Money To Burn
by derangedperson
Summary: The threat is real. The money isn't. When Judy and Nick uncover a counterfeiting scheme, all hell breaks loose.
1. Stakeout

A pack of ocelots crossed Mane Street in downtown Zootopia, making their way towards the 24-hour Snarlbucks in front of them. The city was a year removed from the Night Howler case, and with local relations between predator and prey steadily improving, the ZPD was more than happy to have Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as the faces of their department. The duo had starred in countless TV, newspaper and Internet ads throughout Zootopia that bore the slogan Judy had espoused in her speech to Nick's graduating class: Change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us. The influx of recruits to the police academy had increased by 30 percent due to the ads, and there were several new faces that had joined the force, including the first pig and otter officers. Truly, change was afoot.

Tonight, as the pack entered the coffee shop, none of them paid any mind to the cargo van parked on the curb off to their collective right. In that van sat Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, currently in a sting operation. The fox yawned as he glanced over the file that Chief Bogo had given them at roll call. Their target was Michael Stripe, a zebra (not to be confused with the lead singer of R.A.M.) who had been involved in organized crime for two years. In the past few weeks, counterfeit money had been showing up all throughout the city, and Bogo had requested that Hopps and Wilde investigate it. Stripe had been spotted buying up large quantities of paper and ink by various undercover informants, and he had been spotted near this particular Snarlbucks three days ago receiving product from some middlemen in the alley. Odds were that he'd be back sooner than later, and the duo were ready to pounce.

But with a sting operation came waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. They had been sitting in the parking lot since 6 in the morning-it was now 2:35 a.m. by Nick's watch-and there was still no sign of their target. Nick yawned again and asked, "He _is_ gonna show up, right?"

"Any minute now," Judy answered as she peered through her binoculars.

"You said that three hours ago! Can we at least do something to pass the time?"

"I don't see why not." Judy put the binoculars down and asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Some free association." Nick started the train of thought with, "Name some of the things you like about me."

"Only if you do the same for me," Judy replied.

"Deal."

"Well, let's see...I like your smile."

"I like your smile too."

"Your ingenuity."

"And I like your ingenuity too."

"Your personality."

"Wow, shock of shocks! I like your personality too!"

Judy rolled her eyes and laughed, giving Nick a playful punch in the arm. "You don't have to suck up to me, Nick!"

"Why would I suck up to you? I'm being honest, Carrots-I really see those same traits in you."

"You're just saying that."

"Absolutely not. Your smile is brighter than the sun..."

Judy smirked and mumbled, "Oh jeez..."

"Your ingenuity knows no bounds..."

"Come on!"

"And your personality...cheerful, driven, kind, and dedicated! See?"

"Nick, are you sure you're not just talking about yourself?"

The fox blushed and replied, "Well...maybe a little."

"HA!" Judy wore a smug grin as she took a sip of water. "I knew it." Fifteen awkward seconds of silence passed before Nick asked, "Well, don't you wanna hear my answers? The _real_ answers?"

"Okay, Mr. Wilde," Judy said as she put her water down. "Humor me."

"Well, for starters, I like that little thing you do with your foot when I scratch you behind the ears." Judy's ears drooped and her face flushed red with embarrassment as she exclaimed, _"Niiiiiiick!"_

"Hey, you said you wanted to hear my answers, and I'm being truthful here. I also like the way your tail twitches when you get excited," he said as he pointed his finger at it. Judy's ears began to perk up as Nick continued: "I like the way you laugh. I like how you're always enthusiastic and ready to go every morning at roll call. I like your dedication. I like working with you. But most of all..." Nick put his paw over hers and smiled. "...I like _you._ "

Judy sniffled and said, "Nick, you're gonna make me cry..."

"Hey, as long as they're tears of joy, go nuts." Nick put his paws behind his head and grinned with satisfaction as Judy wiped her eyes before returning to her binoculars. At that moment, a brand new station wagon pulled into the alleyway, catching the partners' attention.

"You think that's him?" Nick asked as he sat up and peered through the windshield.

"There's only one way to find out," Judy answered as she climbed onto the dashboard for a better look. Within moments, her head was underneath Nick's as they watched what was going on. The driver of the station wagon killed the engine and stepped out, revealing themselves to be none other than Michael Stripe, potential counterfeiter, suitcase in hoof. He scratched the back of his neck and began to walk towards the back of the alley, where another figure waited. Judy and Nick retreated to their equipment in the rear of the van and put headphones on to listen in. Judy grinned in anticipation and asked, "Ready to make the world a better place?"

Nick turned the camera and the microphone on and answered, "Always."

"Then let's get him." Nick aimed the device at Stripe and his associate, with their headphones relaying the conversation.

 _"Good to see you again, Michael. How's the band?"_

 _"Very funny. You got the plates?"_

 _"Right here. But first things first-the payment, please."_

 _"Oh, absolutely."_ The seller took the suitcase and opened it, but closed it a few seconds later and spat, _"Is this some kind of joke?!"_

 _"Yeah. Hilarious, isn't it?"_ Then, to the partners' horror, Stripe pulled out a silenced pistol and shot the seller three times in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground. Judy shut her eyes and cringed as Nick mumbled, "Oh my God..." Through her binoculars, Judy saw Stripe approach the seller, kneel down, and pull four printing plates out of his coat. Coughing and gagging, the seller tried to crawl away, but his momentum was stopped by Stripe planting his hoof in the small of his back.

 _"You double-crossing son of a bitch! We had a deal!"_

 _"Yeah. HAD."_ Stripe fired one more shot into the seller's head, killing him.

 _"It's been a pleasure doing business with ya."_


	2. Pedal To The Metal

He had always hated the term "mercenary." If anything, Stripe considered himself an independent contractor-whoever paid the most and offered the best received his services. With no one to answer to and a code of honor that was nonexistent at best, he had become one of the most feared figures in Zootopian crime. No less than Mr. Big himself had referred to Stripe as amoral, selfish, violent and psychotic. If anything, the zebra wore those words as a badge of honor.

This latest job, this counterfeiting business, had paid him extremely well. Granted, he had never met the boss face to face, but the money still arrived with every shipment of ink, paper and supplies he provided. And this latest payday was sure to be a sweet one now that he had the printing plates the crew needed. After looking around for a few seconds, he picked up the empty shell casings and put them in his jacket pocket while the plates went in the briefcase. As Judy watched him, all she could say was "That's really smart."

"Leave no evidence behind," Nick said to himself. Now that the zebra had everything he needed, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his employer. "Hey, it's Stripe. I got the stuff. No, it was no problem. Fifteen minutes? I'll be there in ten." He hung up and started to walk back to his car. Back towards Judy and Nick. The partners pulled out their tranquilizer guns while Judy grabbed her radio and relayed their info to headquarters, making sure to keep her voice down.

"This is Officer Judy Hopps. There's been a shooting in the alleyway near the Snarlbucks on the corner of Mane and Steppe; we need a bus ASAP! The shooter is still here and approaching our position; we have a positive ID on him as Michael Stripe, mercenary for hire. Request permission to engage." By now, Stripe had made his way back to his car, using the key fob to open the trunk before tossing the briefcase into the passenger seat. He started the car and was just about to leave when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. His eyes narrowed as he exited the car while the repetitive dinging of the open door alarm rang out into the night.

That van in front of him...he'd seen it before. Two weeks ago at the drop site for the ink. And even though tonight it was parked just outside the range of the nearest street lamp, a slight tilt in the magnifier angled the light in through the windshield, giving him just enough of a vantage point inside. Nick had chosen that moment to turn his attention towards the wagon, but when he saw Stripe standing right in front of it, he froze.

"Uh...Carrots..."

"Not now, Nick!"

"Judy, I think he's looking at us!" The rabbit stopped her report and turned to look. Stripe glared through the windshield, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of anything suspicious. As Judy looked outside, she found herself eyeball to eyeball with the zebra, with Stripe nodding his head and mouthing "I knew it." To the partners' relief, he began to walk back towards his car, and they breathed a collective sigh. But it was quickly dashed when Stripe spun back around, pistol in hand, and began to fire.

"OH SWEET CHEESE AND CRACKERS!" In a flash, Nick pushed Judy down to the floor of the van and laid on top of her, shielding her from harm as the bulletproof glass did its job, riddling the windshield with bullseyes and pockmarks. Since his ammo had no effect, Stripe dashed to his car, slammed the trunk closed, started the engine, dropped it into gear, and tore off into the night. By the time the station wagon was in motion, Nick and Judy were passenger and driver, respectively, of the van as the fox activated the sirens and flashing lights. Judy started the engine, put the van in drive, and slammed her foot on the accelerator, following Stripe as she continued her report.

"SHOTS FIRED! SHOTS FIRED! Officer Wilde and I are unhurt! Suspect is fleeing in a white Doeyota Yaris wagon, license plate India-Oscar-Five-Zero-Charlie-Three-Kilo-Uniform! We are in pursuit! Repeat, we are in pursuit!"

"Roger that. Be careful, you two!"

"10-4!" Judy hung up the radio and exclaimed, "Nick, I'm gonna need you to be my eyes!"

"Way ahead of you!" Nick grabbed the binoculars and put them to his face. "He's straight ahead! Keep going!" All of a sudden, Stripe swerved off of Mane Street onto Lynx Avenue in an attempt to shake them. No dice, as the van rounded the corner with a wider berth, but maintaining just enough speed to be visible in Stripe's rear view mirror.

"So the bunny wants to play," the zebra sneered. "I'm game!" He ejected the empty cartridge from his gun, reloaded, and began to fire backwards at the van. The bullets ricocheted off the hood with a series of metallic clunks, doing nothing to slow its momentum. All the while, Nick exclaimed, "Doesn't get the hint, does he?"

"Do they ever?" Judy replied. The Yaris made a sharp left turn and began heading northwest, with its driver cursing to himself as he pushed the engine as far as it could go. In the van, meanwhile, Nick watched the events unfold with a huge, childlike grin on his face and shouted, "FINALLY!" He reached into his pants pocket, grabbed his cell phone and plugged it into the stereo's auxiliary jack. When Judy saw this, she exclaimed, "What are you DOING?!"

"Sorry, Carrots, but I've been waiting for an excuse to use this playlist! Car chase music!" He tapped his claw to the screen, and soon the van was filled with the dulcet tones of Three Hoof Death Punch. Nick started to bang his head and cracked, "Gets you in the mood, doesn't it?"

"Not really! Do you have anything that's less angry?"

"Ask and ye shall receive!" He switched the music to an instrumental track, one that Judy recognized as "War" by guitarist Joe Sacheetahni. As the song kicked in, the rabbit grinned and said, "Nick, this'll do just fine! Let's get him!" The Yaris and the cargo van remained equidistant for the next mile and a half as the zebra weaved between and around cars in the road, keeping his eyes open for an escape opportunity. After they passed the Walrus-Mart outside of town, he found it in a sign reading **FREEWAY BEGINS 3/4 MILE.** If ever there was a chance to lose them, this was it. But it was not to be as Judy accelerated, pulling alongside his left. Nick rolled down the passenger window and cracked, "I'm sorry, sir, but you are clearly traveling over the speed limit! Please slow down so we can arrest you!"

Stripe's response was two shots from his gun, which Nick avoided by pushing his seat back. After the shots were fired, he put his seat back upright and leaned out the window. "Where _do_ they find you guys these days? By my count, you've only got two more bullets left! You should really learn not to waste your quota on a bulletproof vehicle!" Nick pulled out his own gun, took aim at the Yaris' rear tire, and fired a shot, flattening the wheel and turning Stripe's attention to steering the car out of a tailspin, which, to the partners' shock, he did. The popped tire shredded completely off, leaving the axle to throw off sparks as the zebra continued to drive.

"I have to hand it to ya-that's some impressive defensive driving!" Nick said as he leaned out of the window. "If I was your driving instructor, I'd give you an F+ and a handshake!" Enraged, Stripe grabbed the steering wheel with his right hoof and jerked it to the left, ramming the Yaris into the side of the van. As if tempting fate, Nick leaned out of the window to taunt the zebra some more, and sure enough, fate answered.

"And that was such a nice paint job, too! Don't feel too bad, though! I'm pretty sure you could get-GYAAAH!" In one fluid motion, Stripe grabbed Nick by the collar with his left hoof, pulling him out of the van and into the Yaris. After a three second staredown, he flung the fox into the backseat and yelled, "SIT DOWN AND _SHUT UP!_ " Judy could do nothing but watch this unfold in horror. "Nick, hold on! I'm coming!"

Before she could put her plan into motion, Stripe accelerated and pulled in front of her. He waited until she was able to see into the car, then grinned and grabbed his gun, aiming it at Nick. "You know, you're right-I _do_ have only two bullets left. But that's more than enough to kill a cop!"

Though she couldn't hear what was going on in front of her, Judy could see it just fine. When Stripe aimed his gun at Nick, the rabbit accelerated and rammed into the back of the Yaris. The impact jostled both cop and criminal as the gun fell to the floor and slid under the passenger seat. Sensing an opening, Nick bit down on Stripe's arm and swung his legs around, kicking the zebra in the face. The jolt caused the car to bounce back and forth between the guardrails on either side of the highway like a pinball as the duo fought for control of the steering wheel. In the process, Nick threw a punch that Stripe caught with little effort, striking the fox in the face with a pair of jabs courtesy of his own paw and knocking him down. Now that things had been settled with the fox, Stripe glanced down at his watch.

3:01 a.m.

"Son of a..."

His ten minute promise long since broken, Stripe began to look for a way out of his predicament, and he found it when the streetlights began to reflect off of the water of a nearby reservoir. He locked a Club on the steering wheel and pinned the accelerator pedal to the floor with a knife, grabbed the briefcase and his gun and moved over to the passenger side of the car, moving Nick to the driver's seat while keeping his left hoof on the steering wheel. He jostled Nick with a corner of the briefcase, rousing him from his self-induced stupor in time to see the zebra opening the passenger door.

"What were you saying earlier about defensive driving? F+ and a handshake? Well, you'd better get a passing grade right now if you wannna live!" He gave Nick a mock salute, and with a final "Adios!" he jumped out of the car and landed in the water. He rose from the reservoir screaming in pain, but alive. Back on the freeway, Nick fought to regain control, but the Club blocked any attempt at turning. He tried to slam on the brakes, but the car wouldn't slow down. Panicking, he got on his radio and yelled, "JUDY! JUDY, ARE YOU THERE?"

"Oh, thank God, Nick! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Listen, Stripe put a Club on the steering wheel and a knife in the accelerator! I tried the brakes, but I think the line was severed when we were fighting for control! I can't stop the car!"

"Nick...Nick, listen to me! I'm gonna get in front of you and try something!"

"Try what?"

"Just wait!" Judy accelerated, pulling in front of the Yaris. "Okay! Here's what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna try to overheat the engine in your car!"

"HOW?!"

"Buckle up, Nick!" With no other option, Nick did as he was told. "On the count of three, I'm gonna brake, okay?"

"WHAT?! Judy, are you nuts?!"

"One..."

"Judy! Judy, wait! Please-"

"TWO..."

"I'm not ready! I'M NOT READY! _I'M NOT-_ "

 _"THREE!"_ Brake lights. Nick braced himself as the car crashed head on into the van. When she felt the impact, Judy threw the van in neutral and pulled the parking brake, filling the night air with the smell of burning rubber and the screeching of tires. Thinking he had nothing else to lose, Nick pulled the emergency brake and, to his surprise, felt the car begin to slow down. Or maybe it was because of the Check Engine light and the fact that smoke was now pouring out from under the hood. Regardless, a quarter mile later, the two vehicles sputtered to a stop, the partners' ordeal over as Nick put his head in his paws and collected himself.

"Are you okay?" Judy asked over the radio.

Nick's relieved laughter was all the answer she needed. "I can't believe that worked, Carrots! Let's _never_ do that again!"

"I hear you, partner!" Judy jumped out of the van and ran towards the Yaris, only to hop back in surprise when Nick threw the door open and fell out of the car, clutching his chest in a melodramatic fashion. The rabbit shook her head and chuckled, "Nick, you're still alive. There's nothing to worry about."

"Speak for yourself, Judy! You didn't just get your butt kicked by an angry zebra!" When he turned to look at her, Judy gasped at the sight of a nasty shiner, a bloody nose and two welts on the side of his face. "My photogenic good looks, ruined!"

"You look okay to me," Judy said as she took a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped the blood from his face. "And in a few days, when that black eye goes away, you'll look even better."

Nick comically pouted and asked, "You pwomise?"

"I pwomise," Judy replied with a smile. "After we're through, that big, bad zebra won't hurt you ever again."

"Thank you, mommy!" Nick cracked as he gave her a hug. The rabbit grinned and rolled her eyes at her partner's histrionics before hugging him back. "I'm just glad you're safe, Nick."

"So am I." When they broke their embrace, Nick radioed headquarters with an update: "This is Officer Nick Wilde. The chase that Officer Hopps and I participated in is over. We are in the northbound lanes of the Eisencower Freeway in the Rainforest District by the 24-mile marker. Requesting a tow truck." Fifteen minutes later, the truck arrived with a police cruiser bringing up the rear. The driver, a burly ram, stepped out of his vehicle and asked, "How're you doing, officers?"

"We're fine, thanks for asking," Nick replied. "We've got a big ol' piece of evidence here that we need brought downtown."

"Fair enough, but I'm gonna need you to move that van."

"Sure thing," Judy replied. She moved the van away from the Yaris, allowing the tow truck to get in front of the wrecked car. The driver attached the towing mechanism to the front axle, and with the push of a button, the car began to slide towards the truck bed. When the front end began to leave the road and angle up onto the towing platform, a loud thump from the rear of the car caught Judy's attention.

"Hold on! Stop!" The trucker took his hoof off the winch, asking, "What is it?"

"I think I heard something!" Judy drew her tranquilizer gun and approached the trunk of the vehicle from the left while Nick came from the right. Tension filled the air as the fox put his paw on the door handle. "Be prepared for anything, Nick," Judy warned.

"Always am. On three. Ready?"

Judy nodded. "One...two...three!" When Nick opened the trunk, three large shrinkwrapped packages fell onto the ground with a dull thud. Judy grabbed her flashlight and shined it on the three pieces of evidence while Nick cut the shrinkwrap on one with his claws. When he tore the package open, a piece of paper with the words **TEST PRINT #2** scrawled on it was the first thing that the partners saw. The second thing they saw, however, more than made up for the fact that their quarry had escaped.

"Money," Judy said as she and Nick each pulled a $100 bill from the package. They certainly looked and felt real, but a closer inspection revealed their true nature.

"They're fake, Carrots."

"How do you know?"

"A hustler never forgets. I've seen more than a few fake bills come my way-nine times out of ten it was some young wiseass trying to pull a fast one on me. But this is almost identical to the real thing, right down to the paper. The only caveat is, there's no watermark."

Judy took a $100 bill out of her wallet and compared it to the duplicate. The two bills were indeed mirror images of each other, but when she put them up to her flashlight, Nick's analysis proved correct. "Put a watermark on this and they'd be indistinguishable. This is impressive."

"And check this out." The fox opened the top of the shrinkwrap on the other two packages, and sure enough, papers reading **TEST PRINT #1** and **TEST PRINT #3** were the first things they saw. "Looks like whoever Stripe was working for has a little operation going."

Smiling from ear to ear, Judy clapped Nick on the back and said, "Partner, I think we've got ourselves a case."

"I think you're right."


	3. Contract Terminated

The late night began its reluctant surrender to the new day, the sun peeking over the horizon. As he looked toward the rising sun, Stripe realized that he had somehow wound up at a bus stop just down the road from a Napanda Auto Parts store on the outskirts of the Rainforest District. He slammed the briefcase down on the empty space next to him, put his head down, and tried to catch his breath. His rough landing had not only knocked the wind out of him, but the sharp pain that he felt when he breathed in signaled that one of his ribs was broken. He had swam out of the reservoir, walked two miles down the highway, climbed over three fences and tripped over another, and ran like hell away from an angry homeowner whose yard he trespassed on, and did it all with a broken rib. He didn't know whether to laugh or keel over. Right now, though, there were more important things to worry about. He picked up his phone (which he had waterproofed for situations like this) and redialed the number of his employer.

"Hey, it's Stripe. I got away from the cops and...yeah, I got the plates. I'm sitting at the Greenshanks bus stop on the north side. Ditched it to avoid getting caught...Yeah, I can wait."

So he did. And he waited for an hour until a grey Jaguar coupe pulled up to the bus stop. The window rolled down and the meerkat driver barked an order of "Get in!" Stripe put the briefcase in the trunk and attempted to enter the front passenger seat, only to be stopped by the driver locking the door and spitting, "Did I tell you to sit there?!"

"No, I just assumed-"

"Get your ass in back! If it were up to me, you'd walk the rest of the way!"

Stripe narrowed his eyes at the driver. On any other day he'd blow the guy's head off for talking to him like that, but his gut told him to just get in the car and get it over with. So the zebra listened to his instincts and did just that. The Jaguar pulled a U-turn and headed south, back towards downtown and civilization. The silence between the driver and his passenger hung in the air like a thick fog, only to be broken with a question from Stripe: "Where are we going?"

"The boss wants to see you."

"So I finally get to meet the animal in charge...it's about time." Stripe leaned back and closed his eyes as the car traveled on. Ten miles later, he was roused from his slumber as the car stopped outside a nondescript warehouse just outside the city center. "We're here, Mike. Get inside." Stripe exited the car, grabbed the briefcase from the trunk, and walked through the front door of the warehouse. To say he was unsurprised by its contents was an understatement.

"There's nothing here, genius! If you're gonna kill me, at least-"

The meerkat opened a storm door in the floor and pointed towards the stairs. "Anything else you wanna add, jackass?"

Stripe frowned and replied, "Nope. You got me." As he descended the stairs, he could hear a dull whirring noise that grew louder the further down he went. When they reached the bottom, the meerkat hit a series of light switches, illuminating the room and showcasing the true nature of the operation. The doors to the main office were straight ahead of him while four printing presses, two to each side, rolled out countless reams of counterfeit bills as a series of workers stacked them neatly upon pallets for inspection. A donkey wearing earplugs and a baseball cap leaned against a printer that had just finished its load, drinking a bottle of Heinekit to celebrate a job well done. The printer to his left had new plates getting installed for another job, and as he took everything in, he didn't notice the large bull standing in front of the office door until his deep rumble of a voice cut through the room.

"Michael! So nice to finally meet you face to face. Come in, come in."

Stripe went inside and sat in the chair before him. A lynx in business attire stood off to his left, barely regarding him as he entered. The bull shut the door and took his seat behind the desk after shaking the zebra's hoof. "Mr. Stripe, my name is Ferdinand del Toro. This is my associate, Philippe Chateaux. Welcome to my print shop."

"Thanks for having me."

"I trust my driver did not give you too much trouble?"

"Nah. Real cranky S.O.B., though."

"I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances." del Toro's smile disappeared. "I understand you had a problem with my seller at the drop site. Could you explain, please?"

"Sure. After I gave him the money, he wouldn't give me the plates. I told him off for it, he pulled out his gun, and I shot him. I did what I had to do."

"Did anyone see you?"

"The ZPD saw me leaving the scene, but I outran 'em."

"Excellent. Do you have the new plates?"

Stripe held up the briefcase and patted it twice. "Right here."

"Let me see them, please." The zebra handed the briefcase over to del Toro. When the bull opened it, he beamed at the sight of the plates while Stripe thought about what he had just said. _A problem with the seller? Wha-_

His thoughts crashed to a halt as he looked to his right and saw a large piece of radio equipment. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a police scanner. An older model, but a police scanner all the same. Just like the one he'd seen the rabbit cop using in the van earlier. His curiosity piqued, the zebra asked, "What's with the scanner?"

Philippe answered, "The one on the left, we use to listen in when a drop or a pickup is taking place to make sure things go well. The one on the right is a receiver for the microphone in your coat."

 _Microphone?_ Stripe took his coat off and felt around the collar. A hard lump just underneath the collar caught his attention, and he tore a small hole in the fabric, pulling out a small button microphone.

 _Oh shit._

Stripe rose and attempted to get out of the chair, only for the lynx to force him back into his seat. "Did Mr. del Toro give you permission to leave?"

"I...I just had to get some air, is all."

"Yeah. HAD." All the blood drained from Stripe's face as the lynx pulled out a silenced pistol of his own and shot him twice in the chest, sending him tumbling to the floor. The zebra screamed in pain and shock as the blood stained his white fur a dark red, all the while trying to reach the door in a pathetic attempt to escape. The lynx cut him off at the pass, putting his foot to Stripe's shoulder and demanding, "Who the hell do you think you are? That animal you killed was our top metalworker! These plates are the last shot we have now-"

"Hold on, hold on. Lower your weapon, Philippe," del Toro said as he got up from his desk. "You've done your part." The lynx nodded and obeyed, stepping back as the bull knelt before Stripe, a sick grin on his face. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out about your duplicity, Mr. Stripe? That you took the money for the plates and kept it for yourself?"

Stripe gurgled and choked out, "H...How did...?"

"We tracked the serial numbers," Philippe answered. "Buying a brand new car with marked money? Not exactly the smartest thing to do."

The zebra laughed. "You...you think I bought it in my name? I...I'm not that stupid!"

"I beg to differ," del Toro said. "I have also noticed that three of our test print packages are missing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to skip town and start your own little operation." del Toro leaned down until he was snout to snout with Stripe and unleashed a sinister full-toothed smile. "Am I getting warm?"

All the zebra could do was look away. His suspicions confirmed, del Toro let him have it, his voice getting louder and angrier the longer he spoke.

"Do you think this is a hobby, something anyone can do just for a lark? THINK AGAIN! I take great pride in my product, Mr. Stripe! Any two-bit hack with a scanner and printer can copy a bill, but it takes _time, talent, pride, and hard work_ to pull off an operation of this magnitude! Everything you see out there is the result of _20 years_ spent in the criminal underworld! You have barely even finished _TWO!_ I have worked my _tail_ off to get to this point, and you expect me to just sit back and _let a pompous clown like you TRY TO SCREW ME OVER?!"_

del Toro clenched his fist and punched Stripe in the face. Then he hit him again. And again. And again. And again until Stripe spit out three of his teeth. del Toro was ready to deliver one more punch, but cooler heads prevailed and he grabbed a towel, wiped the blood from his hooves and calmed down as best he could. "The ZPD now has possession of not only those three packages, but your car as well. I do wish you could have been of more assistance to us, but as of this moment, Mr. Stripe, your services are no longer required." He nodded at Philippe, who stood over the prone zebra and fired a single bullet straight into his skull. After the deed was done, del Toro got on the phone to his cleanup crew.

"Boys, I have some garbage that needs to be incinerated. Please retrieve it from my office posthaste." Within seconds, a team of four raccoons picked up Stripe's body and carried it out of the room towards the rear of the workspace where the incinerator waited. Philippe shut the door and said, "It needed to be done, sir. But now that Stripe's out of the picture, we're back to square one."

"Once again, Philippe, you are right," del Toro replied as he sat down. He poured two glasses of scotch and handed one to his lieutenant, taking a sip from the other as he flipped through his rolodex. "But only partially."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Removing Mr. Stripe from the equation was a necessary evil. Do you not agree that his reputation preceded him?"

"Definitely."

The bull smiled as he took another sip. "Because of his carelessness, some of our product has wound up in the hands of the ZPD. He murdered a metalworker in cold blood. His prints are bound to be all over the interior of his car. How much further could I possibly have gone with a wild card like him, Philippe?"

"As far as you could," the lynx answered.

"But that would not have been far enough, my friend. In times like these you need animals you can trust." del Toro finished his brandy and motioned to his phone. "You need the cream of the crop. The _alpha team_ , if you will."

Philippe downed his scotch and asked, "You're calling the Wolvertons?"

"Of course. My only regret is that I did not call them first," del Toro said with a sigh as he dialed the number and put the phone on speaker. The line rang three times before the caller on the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hola, Mr. Wolverton. My name is Ferdinand del Toro. I have heard you and your brothers are looking for work."

"Sadly, the rumors are true. What kind of job do you have?"

"I have started a new business. You and your brothers would be in charge of security, deliveries and pickups, and general intimidation when the need arises...should you accept, of course."

"What are you offering?"

"I can offer you $30,000."

"So between me, Alex and Neil, that'll be ten for each of us?"

"No. Thirty thousand _each."_

"HOLY SH...uh, give me a second." The line went silent, except for a few muffled exclamations which led to a collective howl. Once it had died down, Wolverton returned to the phone. "We'll take the job!"

del Toro grinned with satisfaction. "Excellent. Can you start today?"

"Sure thing. Just give us the details."


	4. Clued In

Chief Bogo glanced down at his watch as he entered ZPD headquarters, hoping that he'd have enough time for a cup of coffee. A brief grin flashed across his face-the time was 5:42 a.m., and an early morning pick-me-up seemed to be a possibility. He made a beeline for the cafeteria and headed straight for the coffee dispenser, ordering a large cup of joe with sugar. As the cup filled, Officer Clawhauser approached him carrying a box of donuts, scarfing one down in the process. "Mornin', chief!"

"Good morning, officer." Bogo took his coffee and began to walk towards his office. "Anything I should know before roll call?"

"Actually, yeah. Officers Hopps and Wilde are waiting for you in your office. They came across something pretty darn big last night in that sting op."

"What did they find?"

"Counterfeit money. Lots of it. They actually just got here about half an hour ago." Clawhauser pulled out another donut and offered it to Bogo, who declined. The cheetah grinned and used that opportunity to toss it into his mouth. "And I don't know whether this is true or not, but I heard through the grapevine that there's a dead body involved."

Bogo stopped drinking his coffee, surprised to hear that piece of information. His eyes became laser focused as he said, "Thank you, Clawhauser. I'll take it from here."

"Sure thing, sir. Have a great day!"

"Most of the time, I do." Bogo opened the door to his office and was greeted by the sight of Judy and Nick sitting in the chairs in front of his desk, caffeine flowing through their veins courtesy of two cans of Kanga energy drink. Neither of them had slept, for obvious reasons, but duty called before they could wind down for the day. They rose from their seats and saluted him when he walked in, and Bogo did the same before sitting at his desk. Judy and Nick sat down as the chief asked, "What happened to your face, Wilde?"

"Michael Stripe happened to me, sir."

 _This should be good,_ Bogo thought to himself. "The sting operation was a success, I take it?"

"It was, but there were a few...extracurriculars," Judy replied. "He picked up the plates at around 2:40 a.m.-"

"And by 'picked up' she means 'he shot the seller four times and killed him,'" Nick interjected. Bogo's eyes narrowed as he ordered, "Go on."

Judy continued: "So after he shot him, he got the plates and went to leave, but he saw us and started shooting. We chased him, he pulled Nick into his car and beat him up..."

"As you can plainly see," Nick said as he pointed to his face.

"He escaped by jumping into a reservoir north of town. We lost him, but we were able to recover his car as well as three packages of counterfeit money. Forensics is taking a look at the bills and running info on the car as we speak."

"Has there been an ID on the body?"

"Haven't heard anything yet," Nick said. As if on cue, the fox's cellphone rang when he finished his sentence. "Hello? This is." Nick mouthed "It's the morgue" to Bogo, who nodded his head. "You have a positive ID? Awesome. We'll be right there." Nick got up from his seat and headed for the door before Bogo caught up to him and put his arm out, stopping the fox in his tracks.

"You've done enough, Wilde. Officer Hopps, may I have the case file?" Judy handed it to the chief as he continued. "You two should go home and get some rest. I'll head down to the morgue and give you an update on the body later today."

"Thank you, chief," Judy said before a large, tired yawn racked her body. Within seconds, Nick let out a big yawn of his own, followed by a smaller one from the chief. "Huh...I guess that really _does_ work," Nick cracked.

"And if you don't get back home, _you_ won't," Bogo warned. "Give me a call once you two are rested and ready and we'll go from there."

"Thanks again, mom." The chief narrowed his eyes and let out an irritated snort as the duo left his office.

"Smartass."

* * *

Nick and Judy returned to her apartment just after 7 o'clock. Their bodies aching and eyelids drooping, they collectively crash landed on her bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Nick cuddled up next to Judy, wrapped his arms around her torso, rested his head next to hers and nuzzled the back of her neck. They stayed like that for seven hours before Judy awoke to her ringtone of "Try Everything." She stretched and thumped her foot on the floor as she answered the call with a groggy "Hello...?"

"Ms. Hopps, this is Dylan Grizzman from forensics. How ya doin'?"

"Fine...how are you?" she asked as Nick woke from his slumber. "Izzat Bogo, Carrots?"

She covered the speaker and said, "It's forensics." She returned to the phone and listened in to what Grizzman had to say. "We just finished taking a look at the Yaris you brought in; sure enough, we found a series of hoofprints that we were able to positively identify as those of Michael Stripe-the criminal, not the singer."

"Obviously."

"We ran the VIN number too while we were at it; called the dealership and spoke to the salesperson that sold him the car. She said he paid for the whole thing up front...cash."

Judy turned to Nick and repeated what Grizzman told her. Nick replied, "That explains why the seller got so pissed." She nodded in agreement and returned to her phone as the bear continued. "But here's the thing. Even though he bought the car, even though there's a room full of animals that saw him buy the car, and even though his prints are all over the interior, the car's not registered in his name."

"Well, who _is_ it registered to?"

"A Mr. Karlton, with a K, Thornbull."

Judy wrote the information down on her notepad and said, "Thanks so much, Dylan-can I call you Dylan?"

"Sure."

"Cool. Thank you again for the information; every little bit helps."

"Anytime, Judy! Can I call you Judy?"

"Absolutely!"

"Thanks, Judy! If I find out anything else, I'll call ya!"

"You do that. Have a good afternoon!"

"You too!" Judy hung up the phone and prepared to call Chief Bogo when Nick cracked, "Sounds like you made a new friend."

"It's the first time I've talked to him, Nick."

"Well, one talk leads to another talk. And that leads to hanging out, which leads to dating, which leads to marriage, which leads to-"

Judy tossed her shirt at his face with a playful grin. "One talk leads to another talk, which leads to finding more evidence, which leads to the counterfeiter, which leads to us cracking the case."

"Touche." Nick stretched and got out of bed, advising Judy, "Better call the chief before anything else happens."

"Right." She got on the phone with Chief Bogo immediately, with the buffalo answering after two rings. "Hello?"

"Officer Hopps, rested and ready. Officer Wilde is rested and _somewhat_ ready."

"Shaddap!" Nick called from the apartment's sink. Judy gave him a sarcastic wave of her hand and told Bogo the news about the Yaris. "Excellent," he replied. "Was the car in his name?"

"Actually, no. The car was registered to a...Karlton Thornbull."

"Thornbull?" The surprised tone of Bogo's voice caught Judy off guard. "Officers, you'd better get down to the morgue right away."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

The body of the unfortunate seller laid on the coroner's slab for all to see. The three bullet wounds in his stomach told part of the story, but the exclamation point was the hole in his forehead and the massive open wound in the back of his skull. The hyena coroner went about his business as Judy and Nick looked over the body, the paperwork in Judy's paws telling her about the dead ox in front of her.

"Karlton Thornbull," she mumbled to herself. "How did you wind up here...?"

"He got shot and killed," Nick said.

"Metaphorically, smart guy." She turned to the coroner and asked, "Did he have anything on him? A wallet, some form of ID?"

"He did," the coroner answered as he pointed to an open evidence bag on the table next to the body. "His wallet and his cell phone are right there."

Nick pulled out the ox's wallet and rifled through it, hoping to find the smoking gun. Credit cards...a driver's license...a loyalty card from Cubway...a Post-It note with names and dates on it...

"Carrots! I found something!" Judy walked over to Nick and picked up the note, which read:

DROPOFF 2:40 A.M.  
DOWNTOWN SNARLBUCKS, MANE ST.  
MICHAEL STRIPE (NOT THE MUSICIAN)  
LAST SET OF PLATES

"Last set? So he's done this before..."

"Looks like it." Nick glanced at Thornbull's license and said, "Between this, the car and his dead body, I don't think we should have any trouble getting a search warrant for his place." As he spoke, Judy cycled through the cell phone's call history, writing down the phone numbers as she did so. "Did you check the texts, Judy?"

"Getting there..." When she touched the messages icon, Thornbull's final text messages appeared on the screen, sent to a recipient named Larry Biever:

K: this is it lar one last exchange and im done with this  
L: good to know  
K: ill get the $ to the boss and thats that for this then  
L: turning over a newleaf?  
K: yep gonna start my own metal shop wanna work for me  
L: damn straight  
K: stripes here gotta go

A quick background check showed that Mr. Biever was living near the Canals, just outside of Animalia. Judy cracked her neck and asked, "We've got a lead! Ready to see the dam beaver?"

"Dam right!"


	5. Dam The Torpedoes

Gary Wolverton sat behind the wheel of his Hounda Civet, his cell phone in one hand and a camera in the other. His brothers, Alex and Neil, sat in the backseat with Alex's attention drawn to a baseball game he was watching on his phone while Neil had his eyes closed and headphones in his ears, the muffled sounds of Def Leopard playing away. The trio had just left del Toro's warehouse and were parked around the corner from Thornbull's last known address: 4201 Kingfisher Way, The Canals. Their conversation with their new employer was still fresh in their minds as they kept a watchful eye on the log house before them...

 _"So you want us to keep an eye on this Biever guy's house for_ what _reason?" Gary asked._

 _"Mr. Biever was a close friend of the recently deceased Mr. Thornbull," del Toro explained. "If the ZPD has anyone working the case by this point, they're bound to stop there first."_

 _"Makes sense," Alex said. "Anyone in a uniform comes by, take care of 'em, right?"_

 _"Not necessarily, my friend. I just want you to perform surveillance for now-get some photos of the officers on the case and relay them to me. I'll give you further instructions when the need arises."_

 _"Sure thing, Mr. DT. Thanks again for giving us a chance."_

 _"Anytime, Gary. Anytime."_

The sunset turned the sky a bright orange, glistening off the water as Alex said, "Nice weather for this, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing like a nice sunset to offset the fact that we've been waiting here for three hours."

"Time is time," Neil said, having overheard the conversation. "They'll be here soon." Gary nodded in agreement and added, "The only question is, who'll the ZPD send?" That question was soon answered when Alex glanced out his window and saw a police cruiser moving from left to right towards Biever's house. The brothers turned their attention to the vehicle, watching as the doors opened and a rabbit and fox stepped out of it. As soon as Gary saw the rabbit, he began to pump his fists in excitement while Neil rolled his eyes and Alex mumbled, "Here we go..."

"HOLY CRAP, THEY SENT A RABBIT! I can't believe it! They actually sent a rabbit!"

"Calm down, bro," Alex said. "That's Judy Hopps, and I'm pretty sure that fox is Nick Wilde. Those two cracked the Night Howler case last year, remember?"

"I do, believe me," Gary said as he put the camera to his face. "And it looks like we've got our targets in plain sight." A series of rapid clicks sounded as the brothers watched Nick and Judy approach the house and knock on the door. The two cops had no knowledge of the Wolvertons' presence as Larry Biever answered with a small "Can I help you?"

"Mr. Biever, I'm Officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD. This is my partner, Nick Wilde. Sorry to bother you, but we'd just like to ask you a few questions about Karlton Thornbull."

"Uh...okay," Biever answered with hesitation. "Is he alright?"

"Unfortunately, no," Nick answered. "Michael Stripe killed him at the drop site." Biever gasped upon hearing the news, his eyes welling with tears. "Oh my God...he was so close..." The beaver wiped his eyes and motioned for Judy and Nick to come in, an offer they took up immediately. The trio sat down in Biever's living room, with the partners offering whatever condolences they could to the obviously devastated animal. After two minutes of devastation, the beaver coughed, wiped his face with a towel and calmed down. Just to be safe, Judy asked, "Are you ready, Mr. Biever?"

"Yeah...yeah I am. Ask away."

"Okay. How did you know Mr. Thornbull?" Notebook in hand, she reached for her shirt pocket and her carrot pen, but to her shock, it wasn't there. "Crackers! I must have left it at home. Nick, do you have a pen I could use?"

"Sure," he said as he handed it to her. "Sorry about that. So, once again, how did you know the deceased?"

"We went to school together, graduated in the same class. After we finished school, I took a job at my dad's construction company and he went into metalwork." Biever gestured towards a series of sculptures lining his windowsill and said, "Those are pieces that he made himself. Needless to say, an animal with that much talent was bound to get noticed, and he did, about six months ago. The Canals Country Fair was going on and he had a little booth there, selling his sculptures and his knick-knacks. One of 'em happened to be a sculpture of a hundred-dollar bill."

"I'll bet the right wrong animal would take interest in that," Nick said.

"According to Karl, someone did. There was this lynx standing around his booth for a good solid hour, just staring at this metal hundred. After a while, he buys that particular sculpture, Karl gives him his business card, and that night he gets a call from an unknown number; says he saw the hundred and wants to hire him as his own personal smithy. For what, I didn't know, but it was work. Poor guy wound up having to move in with me after his store went under."

"So this was his last address," Judy said as she took down notes. "After he got that phone call, what did he do?"

"He got an address, went there, and got the job. Every few weeks he'd be making a new sculpture of a twenty, fifty, hundred dollar bill." Nick and Judy shot each other knowing glances at this. "Never told me what for, but I had my suspicions."

"If you had suspicions, why didn't you call the police?"

"He was my friend," Biever said with irritation staining his words. "I don't rat out my friends."

"We saw the last text conversation he had with you on his phone," Nick said. "What did he mean by 'one last exchange and I'm done with this?'"

"Exactly that. The guy he was working for told him that he'd have all the tools he needed with one more job, and Karl would be paid handsomely for it. Every time he went out for one of his dropoffs, he'd come back with five, ten thousand dollars. This last one, he said, was gonna net him twenty thousand."

"The new car," Nick whispered to Judy. She nodded and asked, "Did he give you a name of who he'd be dealing with during this job?"

"Yeah, that Michael Stripe guy you mentioned earlier. He brought him over here for a sneak preview of the job while I was at work three days ago."

"So Thornbull had a workshop?"

"Oh yeah; he did all his work in my basement. You can take a look down there if you want."

"Thank you, sir." The partners descended the stairs and turned on the lights, revealing an array of metalwork tools, machines and instruments. A laptop computer lay on an endtable away from the work area, its battery fully charged. As Judy booted it up, Nick took photos of everything in the basement-a ream of paper, welding tools, a laser cutter, a small lathe, a miniature printing press, and a small package of counterfeit bills with **TEST PRINT #4** written on the packing sheet. Meanwhile, Judy cycled through the files on the computer and found schematics, mockups and designs for easy counterfeiting, along with a selfie Thornbull had taken with Stripe at the same location Nick was standing. In surprise, the fox called, "Carrots! Look at this!"

Judy stepped away from the computer and took a look at the array of instruments. "How can a guy with no job afford all of this?"

"Biever did say he'd come back with thousands of dollars. Here's where all the money went." He pointed to the package and added, "Speaking of money, may the fourth be with you."

"Another one? So does that mean...?" Something clicked in her head. "Suicide!"

"What do you..." When she said that word, everything fell together for Nick and the duo began bouncing their theories off one another. "Stripe had to have seen all of this when he was over here. So he gets it in his head that Thornbull is an impulsive guy after, maybe during, the visit. Asks to see some of the samples and takes 'em for himself."

"Whoever gets the plates gives Stripe the money, and he goes and buys that Yaris."

"The briefcase was empty that night. That's why he got so mad. Stripe kills him and was gonna stuff his body in the trunk."

" _That's_ why he opened it! His dead body, in a car registered in his name, bought with the money from the sale of the plates, with the three test packs there with him. Potential counterfeiter kills self over guilt."

"Stripe was gonna make it look like Thornbull committed suicide! _That's_ why he picked up the shell casings!"

"But who was Stripe working for?"

"That's the million dollar question, Carrots. We found the supplier...now we just need to find the buyer."

* * *

del Toro sat at his desk, his hoof tapping the wood at an irregular cadence as he looked at the Wolvertons' photographs. He poured himself a glass of brandy to calm his nerves, but all the alcohol did was make him that much more frustrated. Trying to lighten the mood, Philippe said, "The final plates are working perfectly, Ferdinand. We should have enough money to flood the market within the next few days."

"Look at all that evidence, Philippe." del Toro turned his computer screen so the lynx could see the pictures-ten, in fact, of Judy and Nick removing various items from Biever's home, namely the laptop, the fourth test package, and a sample of the ream of paper. "You know what they say about desperate times?"

"I do, sir."

"That is where we are right now, my friend." del Toro picked up his phone, dialing Gary's number. "Hello?"

"Gary, hello!"

"Mr. DT! Did you get the photos?"

"I did. Well done, Mr. Wolverton; I can see I made a wise decision hiring the three of you."

"Thanks, sir."

"That being said, I have another job for you. It appears that Officers Hopps and Wilde are starting to get a little too close for my liking. Why don't you pay them a visit?"

"A little warning, huh? Just give us the time and place and we'll be there."

"We were unable to find anything on the fox, but I can tell you that Miss Hopps lives at the Grand Pangolin Arms downtown. Stop by for me, would you?"

"We're on it."


	6. Sending Out A Warning

Judy got out of the elevator, stretched, and walked towards her apartment. The last few hours had been an endless stream of cataloging, paperwork and transcribing back at headquarters before Bogo gave them permission to leave. The time on her phone read 1:36 a.m.-she said a silent thank you that she wouldn't have to come in until 9 the next morning, much to her delight. She put the key in the door and unlocked it, walking into her small apartment. Before she had time to react, the door slammed shut behind her, the click of the lock echoing as it was engaged. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw two figures dressed in black from head to toe, gloves and foot covers over their hands and feet, and balaclavas with goggles over the eyes to avoid identification. Suddenly, from behind, a distorted voice rumbled:

"Nice to finally meet you, Miss Hopps."

Without warning, a gloved hand reached out and covered her mouth. In one fell swoop, instinct kicked in and Judy swung her legs up, catching Balaclava One square on the chin with a heel strike. The force of the blow loosened their grip, allowing her time to escape and pull out her phone. Panicking, she rushed through her speed dial numbers until Nick's name appeared. But right when she prepared to call him, Balaclava Two grabbed her and pinned her to the floor.

 _Get to video! GET TO VIDEO!_

Her paw cycled through her apps as fast as it could before she reached the camera option. She activated the video option just as Balaclava Two slammed her hand into the floor, sending the phone flying underneath her bed. Balaclava One, having regained their bearings, pulled a coil of rope from a duffel bag and began to bind Judy's wrists and ankles. All the while, Balaclava Three leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the events unfold.

"No! NO!" Judy struggled and squirmed as hard as she could to try and escape, but the grip that Balaclava Two had on her was as if her body was caught in a vice. With no other option, she began to scream for help, the sound of which was silenced when Balaclava One peeled off a strip of duct tape and slapped it over her mouth. With their quarry under control, the two assailants stood down as Balaclava Three joined the fray, kneeling down in front of her. Judy let out a muffled yelp as they put their hand under her chin and guided her head upwards until she was face to mask with them. As Three began to speak, a voice modulator warped their speech into a deep, unrecognizable rumble.

"So, this is the famous Judy Hopps, toast of Zootopia," Three cracked. "A shame that your partner isn't here-this would've been so much more fun with an audience."

"MMMMMMM! Lmmt mmm gmmmh!" She struggled against her bonds, but her efforts were met with the cock of a gun and the barrel being pressed against her back. When she felt the steel against her fur, her struggling ceased as Balaclava Two hissed, "Our brother is speaking. You listen and you listen good, otherwise your skin's going on my wall."

"Now..." Three's hand was now cupped under her chin as the threat continued, the thumb gently stroking her cheek. "I do love rabbits. Their fur...their eyes...their long, floppy ears...that cute little nose. It would be a shame if I had to harm you in any way. But I won't hesitate to do it if you and your fox friend continue with this case." Judy's eyes widened as Three's tone of voice became colder and dead serious. "This has just been a warning. If you and Mr. Wilde do not halt your investigation immediately...well..." Balaclava One reached into the duffel bag and pulled out two clumps of fur that sent a cold chill down Judy's spine.

A rabbit skin and a fox pelt.

Judy shut her eyes and turned away as Three finished the threat: "Your investigation ends _tonight._ Let's go, boys." Balaclava Two opened the window and one after the other, all three jumped out into the night. Judy laid still on the floor until she was certain they were gone, then rolled under her bed and grabbed her phone. Her bound hands made it that much harder for her to operate, so she laid it on the floor and touched the home button with her nose. When the screen lit up, Judy's eyes widened and she let out a muffled chuckle-seven minutes of footage had been recorded. It wasn't much-it was almost certain to be nothing but audio-but it was a start. She pressed her nose to the stop button, preserving the recording.

 _Now to get a hold of Nick._

* * *

"Oh, for God's sake..."

The dull thrumming of his cell phone jarred Nick from his slumber and back to the land of the living. He extended his hand to the end table and fumbled around, knocking his alarm clock and his lamp aside before reaching his phone. Judy was calling...at two in the morning. With a MuzzleTime request. Puzzled, Nick answered the phone and was greeted with the image of Judy, bound and gagged, staring him in the face.

Whatever slumber that still lingered was blown away as Nick exclaimed, "WHOA! I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Carrots! Next time let me know; you provide the duct tape, I'll provide the handcuffs!"

Judy rolled her eyes as she began to lick the adhesive on the tape in an attempt to loosen it. After a few seconds, she was able to remove the gag by flexing her mouth. "I don't have time for your jokes, Nick! Someone just threatened both our lives!"

The fox bolted upright in his bed. "Who? When?"

"Just now, about two minutes ago! I...I don't know who they were; they had masks on and..."

"Judy, I'm coming over. I'll call Chief Bogo and let him know what's going on." Nick being Nick, however, he couldn't resist one more attempt to lighten the mood. "I'd say 'don't go anywhere,' but you're a little tied up at the mome-"

The death glare Judy gave him would haunt his nightmares for the rest of the month. _Bad form, Wilde,_ he thought to himself. _BAD FORM._

"Crap...Judy, I'm sorry! I'll be right there!"

* * *

"Come on, COME ON!"

The subway ride was the longest five minutes of Nick's life. If there was any silver lining to be found in this garbage dump of a situation, it was the fact that this was a weekend and the trains ran until 3 a.m. When he reached his stop, he bolted from the train before the doors were fully open and upstairs into the night, making his way towards the Grand Pangolin Arms. Thirty seconds later, he was at the front door and about to knock, but a quick glance to his left presented a multitude of call buttons.

In any other situation, Nick would have rung correctly, but circumstances were dire and he was a bundle of nerves. With a frustrated grunt, he shoved his hand into a cluster of buttons in the hopes that a groggy resident would buzz him in. After a few seconds, that turned out to be the case. Once he was inside, and unwilling to wait for an elevator, he tore upstairs until he reached her front door. After knocking twice, he turned the knob and entered to see his partner attempting to cut the ropes on her wrists with one of her bed legs.

"Oh God! JUDY!"

"Nick! Get inside and untie me!" The fox did as he was told and motioned for her to turn around. "You okay? Any cuts, bruises, broken bones-"

"I'm fine, Nick! Did you call the chief?"

"Not yet," he answered as he untied her hands. "I wanted to make sure you were safe first."

"I'm fine! Get on the phone!"

"Yes ma'am!" A quick speed dial and two and a half rings later, Chief Bogo answered. "Wilde," he grumbled, "do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I do, sir, but I have a good reason for calling you this late."

"Don't tell me: you caught your first jaywalker. You have a tipsy elephant in the drunk tank. There's a-"

"Sir, Officer Hopps was attacked in her apartment tonight."

There was silence on the other end. So much of it, in fact, that Nick asked, "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. What happened?"

"I don't know, but when she called me on MuzzleTime, she was tied up. Bound, gagged, the whole nine yards. I'm at her apartment right now."

"Put her on the phone."

"Yes sir." Nick handed his phone to Judy, who went off like a bottle rocket. "Chief, three masked individuals forced their way into my apartment, subdued me, and attempted to intimidate me into dropping the case...No, I didn't. They all had hoods and dark goggles on...I couldn't make out their voices either; those were disguised too...I got some audio footage on my phone that I can turn over to evidence...Yes. First thing tomorrow. Thank you, sir." She hung up the phone and prepared to return it to Nick, but when she turned around and saw him holding the two pelts, she froze. His face solemn, Nick asked, "Why didn't you tell him about this?"

The rabbit hung her head and turned away. Frustrated, Nick exclaimed, "Judy, our lives have been threatened! If there's any extra protection we can get from the ZPD, we should use it! There's no shame in asking for help, _especially in times like this!_ "

" _I know, Nick!_ I'm just..." Judy gulped back a sob and turned away from her friend. "I'm just scared. This...I never thought something like this would happen to me."

Nick put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Hey, I'm scared too. We both knew the risks when we took this job. But with a risk, there's a reward. And that reward is seeing the scumbags who did this to you behind bars. So, how about it, partner? Is the case still on?"

Judy turned around and, with a determined grin, replied, "Darn right the case is still on."

"That's the spirit, Carrots." Nick gathered the pelts, rope and tape and placed them in evidence bags, saying, "I'm gonna drop these off at forensics first thing in the morning. In the meantime, do you mind having an extra body to keep you company?"

Judy smiled and replied, "Not at all."

"Good to know." Nick gave her a hug and scratched her behind the ears, smiling as her foot thumped the floor in a rhythmic cadence. Once she had calmed down, Judy said, "Speaking of forensics, I'm gonna call 'em in to dust for prints. Maybe those three left something behind."

"Good idea," Nick replied. "And speaking of leaving things behind..." The fox walked to Judy's desk and picked up her carrot pen. "...maybe they did."

Judy crossed her arms and grinned. "Smart fox."

"Brave bunny." Then, from out of nowhere, Bucky and Pronk gave their opinions on the matter:

"YOU'RE GONNA NEED ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET!"

"THEY JUST HAD THEIR LIVES THREATENED! GIVE 'EM A BREAK!"

"SHUT UP!"

"NO, _YOU_ SHUT UP!"


	7. Of Breakdowns And Breaks

Police headquarters rumbled with activity as usual when Judy and Nick arrived for work the next day bright and early. As soon as they walked in the door, Clawhauser bolted from his desk towards them. Bracing themselves for the oncoming hug, they were soon lifted into the air by the portly cheetah, who exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you two are okay!"

Nick exclaimed, " _Were_ okay! I can't breathe!"

"Neither can I!" Judy added.

"Sorry!" Clawhauser put them back down and brushed off their uniforms. "It's just...as soon as I heard what happened, I was scared out of my mind for you two! Counterfeit money, dead bodies and intimidation? This is like the Night Howler case times ten!"

"You're telling me," Judy said. "Listen, Ben, Chief Bogo needs to talk with us right away, so we've gotta get going. We can talk about this later, okay?"

"Absolutely," Clawhauser said. "If the chief needs to see you, get up there."

"Come on, Nick!" He followed her lead as they took the escalator to the second floor, making their way towards Bogo's office. When they reached their destination, the door was slightly ajar, enough for the chief to notice them standing outside. "Hopps! Wilde! Come in!"

The duo entered and sat in the empty chair in front of his desk. "You wanted to see us, sir?" Judy asked.

"Yes. First things first, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, sir. Shaken up, but fine."

"Excellent...well, as excellent as you can be in a situation like this. Were you able to gather any evidence?"

"Yes sir," she answered. "Nick got the rope and tape they used to tie me up, and I managed to get some footage on my cell phone, too," Judy said as she handed it to the chief. "One of the attackers knocked it out of my hand and it slipped under my bed, so it's probably just audio."

"Anything you have counts," Bogo assured her. He took a USB cord from his desk and plugged the phone into his computer, downloaded the video to a flash drive, and returned the phone to Judy. "Did you manage to get anything else?"

"There were two more piece of evidence, sir," Nick said as he laid them on Bogo's desk. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were sending us a message. I also brought Officer Hopps' carrot pen. It has a built-in recorder, so it doesn't hurt to take that chance. Maybe they left something behind."

The chief took the pelts in his hooves and snorted in anger. "I will not tolerate this," he declared as he rose from his desk. "Officers, you are to continue your investigation. I'm going to send these to forensics and hope for the best."

"Thank you, sir!"

"If your lives in any way feel threatened, do not hesitate to act. Dismissed!"

Nick and Judy saluted Bogo, who returned it with a determined grin. Before they left, Nick asked, "Chief, could I borrow that flash drive?"

"Return it to me when you're done," Bogo said as he handed it to Nick. "Stay safe, you two." The chief opened the door and showed them out, with Nick starting for the evidence room, asking, "Well, Carrots, you ready to look at some more clues?"

"You go ahead, Nick," she replied. "We've got a few hours before our shift starts-I'm gonna hit the gym."

"Don't wanna spend time with the animal who saved your life? I understand." Normally, Judy would have a quip at the ready to counter Nick's sarcasm, but on this occasion, a cold stare and a furrowed brow was her answer. Nick cringed at the sight and asked, "Carrots...are you sure you're okay? You know that you can talk to me anytime."

"I'm _fine,_ Nick. I just wanna work out for a few minutes."

"Okay...you know where I'll be." The partners went their separate ways as Nick entered the evidence room and gathered Thornbull's computer and cell phone together. Judy had taken care to write the password for both on a Post-It note attached to the keyboard, and with a quick entry, Nick had access to the hard drive. Printouts of the bill schematics, the selfie, and the four packages of counterfeit money sat on the table in front of him as he racked his brain, trying to figure out how they fit together while he aimlessly browsed through the Pictures folder on the laptop. While cycling through them, he came across a series of photos from the Canals Country Fair that Biever had mentioned. Thornbull's kiosk, a few of his sculptures, and a shot from inside the booth with the ox hard at work, smiling while animals passed to and fro, were the main attractions as Nick printed them out for a closer look. When he came to the inside-the-booth photo, the larger photograph allowed him to see the passersby that much easier, and there was one that caught his eye immediately.

In the left of the photo, standing behind the counter next to Thornbull, was a lynx in sunglasses and a V-neck shirt, his head turned towards a sculpture mounted on the outside of the booth. Nick grabbed a magnifying glass and put it over the piece, discovering that the object the lynx was admiring turned out to be the hundred-dollar metal bill. "Found you, kitty," Nick mumbled to himself. "But who are you?"

He blew up that particular section of the photo and printed it out, circling the sculpture and drawing an arrow towards the lynx with the caption LYNX IN THE CHAIN. With that piece of evidence accounted for, he plugged the flash drive into the computer, located the video file, and played it. The first shot of the video was a quick glimpse of Balaclava Two and a split-second look at Judy's terrified face. The panic and fear in her eyes turned Nick's stomach; he shook his head in sorrow and mumbled, "Oh, Carrots..." The remainder of the video was, as expected, audio of the attack. Nick picked up the carrot pen and tapped it against his temple, wondering who in their right minds would do something like this. While buried in his thoughts, his thumb slipped onto the pen's rewind button, turning it back sixty seconds to the beginning.

"It's probably nothing." The voice emanated from the pen loud and clear, startling Nick back to reality. Just to be safe, he rewound the recording, playing it from the start.

"It's probably nothing. Just a novelty carrot pen." A second voice exclaimed, "Alex, put that thing down! We've got a job to do!"

A third voice. "You want me to wait by the door?"

Voice one. "Yeah, stay over there, Neil. When she walks in, we strike."

Voice two. "Remember, she's a rabbit. They have great hearing, so we'll need to be as quiet as possible for this to work."

Three. "It'll work regardless, Gary."

Two. "Dammit, Alex, put that thing down and get ready!" Then the recording ended. Nick rewound it and listened three more times, writing the three names down, shaking with excitement and anger as he did so. His eyes blazed as he underlined the crudely scrawled GARY ALEX NEIL on his notepad three times, grabbed the photos and the flash drive, stuck the carrot pen in his shirt pocket, and headed for the gym.

* * *

Judy was not herself today. That much was clearly evident to the three officers already in the gym. Officers McHorn and Fangmire were stretching and doing push-ups while Officer Furlong lifted some weights, his iFur playing heavy workout music through the gym's speakers. When Judy entered, Fangmire called out, "Hey, Hopps! We heard about last night! You okay?"

A curt "I'm fine" was her reply as she walked past them. "Sure doesn't seem like it," Fangmire said to himself as he returned to his push-ups. Judy, however, broke with her routine; normally she went straight for the treadmill or the dumbbells, something to get the blood pumping before a day's work. Today, she headed straight for the punching bag. She wrapped sports tape across her hands and feet, put a head protector on, and struck the bag with a quick one-two punch as Furlong's iFur switched to a new song. Air raid sirens sounded for twenty seconds before the song kicked in, spiking Judy's adrenaline and causing her to attack the bag with all her might. Rapid kicks, a flurry of punches, and loud, angry shouts echoed through the gym as the trio stopped their respective workouts and watched.

 _Never let them see they get to you._ They did. Judy punched the bag, screaming in rage.

 _Your investigation ends tonight._ Not if I can help it. Judy kicked the bag twice, her anger escalating. The song reached its chorus, a call to arms that had Judy seeing red.

 _I'll have you know that I've become..._  
 _Indestructible_  
 _Determination that is incorruptible_  
 _From the other side, a terror to behold_  
 _Annihilation will be unavoidable_  
 _Every broken enemy will know_  
 _That their opponent had to be invincible_  
 _Take a last look around while you're alive_  
 _I'm an indestructible master of war!_

"Damn right I am!" Judy nodded and grinned, but it was less a grin than a full toothed grimace. Attacking the bag with all her might, tears of rage flowing from her eyes, Judy Hopps was a rabbit transformed. By that point, it wasn't the bag that she was punching. It was Balaclava One. It was Michael Stripe. It was Balaclava Two. It was Balaclava Three. She punched and punched, repeated blows from her right hand striking the bag as she screamed. Having seen enough, Furlong moved to rein her in as Nick entered the gym. Even though he was catching the tail end of her freakout, the fox's fur stood on end as he watched her pummel the bag, screaming and yelling. Furlong called out, "Hey! Hopps! Calm down; you're gonna hurt yourself!"

 _Wham. Wham. Wham._

"Hopps!"

 _Whamwhamwhamwham._

"Judy! Hey!" Furlong tried to pull her away, but Judy pushed him off and returned to her pummeling. That was all Nick could take. "CARROTS! CARROTS!" He ran to her and grabbed her arms from underneath, pulling her away from the punching bag. She stank of sweat and spent adrenaline, huffing and grunting as she glared at Nick. "Judy...what the hell is this? A...are you okay?"

The fury in her eyes began to subside as Nick held her. Her face, at first contorted in anger, softened as she recognized her partner kneeling in front of her. "N...Nick..."

"Come here. Come here." Nick wrapped his arms around her in a big hug, rocking her back and forth to try and calm her down. He could feel her heart hammering against his chest as he whispered, "It's okay, Carrots. It's okay. I'm here. I'm right here. You're fine. You're fine." Her heartbeat slowed to normal and her body loosened up as she finally hugged Nick back and exclaimed, "Oh my God...Nick, what did I just do?"

"You went nuts on the punching bag," Fangmire said as he pointed towards it. "I'm shocked you didn't knock it down outright." The bag swung back and forth in the air, coming to a stop when McHorn grabbed it. "Remind me never to piss you off, Judy," the rhino cracked.

She gave McHorn a slight smile before saying, "I'm sorry, everyone. That was uncalled for and unprofessional of me. Furlong, thanks for trying to help." She glanced at Nick and lowered her head in shame, whispering, "I...I let them get to me."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Carrots. I understand." He patted her on the head and said, "Go take a shower quick. I've got some stuff I want you to see." Judy nodded and headed to the locker room; just then, Nick's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Nick, this is Dylan from forensics. You and Judy need to get down here right away."

* * *

Right away became 20 minutes as Nick waited for Judy to finish showering. When she stepped out in full uniform, Nick gave her the information and they headed to the forensics office. On their way, Judy called the chief:

"Sir, it's Officer Hopps. Nick and I are both here; we just got a call from forensics and we're heading down there right now. Thank you, sir." She gave Nick a nod to let him know everything was okay as they entered the forensics lab, where they finally met Dylan Grizzman face to face. The burly bear rose from his swivel chair and shook their paws, exclaiming, "Hopps! Wilde! It's nice to finally meet you two in person!"

"Likewise, Dylan," Judy replied. "You said we needed to come down here?"

"Yeah." Grizzman sat back down and pulled up a screen on his computer. "The forensics team just got back from your apartment-since it was so small, it didn't take them very long to dust for prints. Anyway, do you wanna hear the good news first or the bad news?"

Judy glanced at Nick, who shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well get the bad news out of the way."

"The bad news is, they weren't able to find any prints. The good news is, they found this." Grizzman held up a small evidence bag, sealed, that contained a few stray hairs. "I ran a test on these, and they came up as wolf hairs. Namely, timberwolf."

"Was there a positive ID on the wolf?"

"Nothing yet, but..." Grizzman's voice trailed off as Nick replayed this new information in his head, trying to put two and two together. _Timberwolf hairs...Gary, Alex and Neil...timberwolf...wolf...wolv..._

 _Wolverton._

"Carrots, I know who attacked you!" The bear was mid-sentence when Nick made his outburst, and when he did, Grizzman was stopped cold. "You do?"

"I think so! Here, listen to this!" Nick pulled out Judy's carrot pen, rewound it, and played the message back from the beginning. Judy and Dylan's eyes widened as the recording played out, and once it ended, Grizzman exclaimed, "M...make a backup of that recording! Here, record it into my cell phone!" Nick gave the pen back to Judy, who rewound it and did so, preserving the evidence. "Awesome! I never thought you'd be able to get all three of their voices on one recording! Holy cow!"

"Whose voices? Who are you talking about?"

Grizzman pulled up a photo of three timberwolves standing arms crossed in front of a wall, staring daggers into the camera. "From right to left, that's Alex, Neil and Gary Wolverton. Much like that Stripe fella, they're mercenaries for hire, but unlike Stripe, they're about as loyal as they come. And when I say loyal, I mean _loyal._ To each other and their employer. They're the highest regarded merc team in Zootopia; you hire the Wolvertons and whatever job you have gets _done_. Odds are, you find them, you'll find the animal behind the animal."

"Do you have any info? A recent address?"

"Actually..." Grizzman rummaged through the file on the brothers before arriving at his destination. "I've got it right here. They all live in the same apartment; the Polaris building in Tundratown, number 402. This address is from a year ago, though, so I don't know if they moved or not..."

"We'll take anything we can get!" Judy leapt up and gave the bear a big hug. "Dylan, you are a lifesaver!"

"Just doing my job, ma'am." Before they left, Nick handed Dylan the kiosk photo and the close-up, asking, "Grizz, can you try to figure out who this lynx is, and give us a call if you do?"

"Absolutely, Nick. Heh...'lynx in the chain.' That's clever."

Judy rolled her eyes and grinned. "Get your snowshoes on, Nick! We're going to Tundratown!" She bounded out the door with Nick in tow as Grizzman returned to his computer, scanning the photos to the hard drive.


	8. Bombshells

Neil Wolverton unloaded the contents of his shopping cart onto the conveyor belt and awaited the final total. Being inconspicuous at a time like this was of the utmost importance, especially considering that Gary and Alex had already been able to pass off their counterfeit money with little effort. del Toro and Chateaux listened in and watched through a pinhole camera/mike combo in his jacket, both of them ready to celebrate if and when this final test run was a success. Out of nervousness, Neil grabbed a bottle of Cherry Croak and added it to the pile, the cashier none the wiser as he rang up his groceries. And then came the moment of judgment.

"Your total is $86.44, sir."

Wolverton reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a $100 bill. The clerk took it, glanced at it, and took the counterfeit marker and drew a line across the right side. On the other end of the line, Ferdinand and Philippe watched, the bull mumbling, "Come on, come on..." The bill stayed clear and the cashier handed Neil his change, wishing him a good day. Neil returned the sentiment and walked out to his car as the celebration commenced on the other end of the line. Philippe pumped his fists in the air and let out a scream of joy while Ferdinand let out a hearty laugh. He wiped his eyes and sat back in his chair, grabbing a bottle of Dom Penguinon from his mini fridge, a huge smile on his face.

"YOU DID IT, FERD! WE'RE GONNA PULL THIS OFF! HOLY CRAP, WE'RE GONNA PULL THIS OFF!"

"Indeed we are, my friend. Indeed we are." He popped the cork on the champagne and poured a glass for him and his lieutenant. "This calls for a toast. To enterprise, to finance, to the Wolvertons!"

Philippe raised his glass and bellowed, "To flooding the market!" del Toro laughed as they clinked their glasses together before downing the alcohol in one gulp. On the other end of the line, Neil dialed his brothers, who in turn dialed del Toro so that they were on one big conference call.

"Hey bro!" Alex exclaimed. "How'd the test run go?"

"Well..." Neil remained silent for an uncomfortable period of time, which caused Gary to say, "You got caught. Neil, don't tell the cops a damn thing-"

"It worked, guys," Neil deadpanned. "They couldn't even tell that the bill was fake." After hearing the good news, Alex let out a triumphant howl that was soon echoed by Gary and then Neil, who pulled over to the side of the road before he let loose. Meanwhile, Philippe and Ferdinand listened to their exclamation with huge grins on their faces, and both were unsurprised when Gary exclaimed, "Come on, Mr. DT! Come on, Philippe! Let's hear ya!"

del Toro's smile switched from joy to embarrassment as he shook his head and said, "I can't, boys. I can't."

"Come on! This is _your_ victory! So let loose!"

del Toro shrugged his shoulders with a "hell with it" grin, and let out the best howl he could. The Wolvertons let out a good-natured laugh when they heard it, Alex exclaiming, "That's right! That's right! Howl, dammit!" Grinning, Philippe joined in the fun, with his yell being less a howl than a prolonged "WOO!"

After a good minute and a half of celebration, del Toro calmed down and said, "Boys, this is the best news I've heard in a while. Now that we know the cash works, the big rollout is going to happen in two days. I have trucks at the ready, bills printing at thousands of dollars a second, and a whole host of employees ready to see this through. Wolvertons, come on down and you will receive your money."

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"Why would I kid you, Neil? You have done your job with efficiency and skill. You and your brothers' $30,000 is well deserved."

"I wasn't referring to that. I'm sitting in my car across the street from our apartment right now. Guess what's parked right outside?" Neil aimed his miniature camera towards the building, and there, plain as day, was a police cruiser parked across the street from the Polaris. del Toro glanced at Philippe, and their smiles faded into anger.

"Looks like the warning didn't take."

del Toro snarled, "Then _kill_ them."

* * *

Judy and Nick stood in front of the door to apartment 402, a search warrant in Nick's paw. The rabbit knocked on the door and called, "Misters Wolverton! This is the ZPD! We have a warrant to search your apartment!" No answer. "Last chance! Are any of you home?" No answer. "Nick, go for it."

With her blessing, Nick tried the doorknob, but as expected, it was locked. Grinning, he pulled out a crowbar and stuck it in the jamb, prying the door open and granting them entry to the darkened apartment. Judy turned the lights on to reveal a luxury apartment with a vaulted ceiling, three bedrooms, a den and a free-standing kitchen. "So this is what you're able to afford when you're a mercenary," Nick cracked. "I'm in the wrong line of work!"

"Don't even go there, Wilde!" Judy said with a grin. The partners went to the den where a 60 inch TV, multiple video game systems, two couches and an end table with a series of magazines and books resting on it awaited. Nick flipped through the pages of the books, hoping for any clues, but there were none to speak of. Judy turned her attention to the kitchen where she found a voice modulator sitting on the counter next to the toaster. "Gotcha," she mumbled as she placed the item in an evidence bag.

After a quick cursory peek in the bathroom, Nick made his way into Gary's bedroom. A laptop computer laid on a desk next to the window, the screensaver showing various casual photos of the brothers. Nick hit the spacebar and the screensaver vanished while a webpage for the Del-Vixen restaurant took its place, a reservation confirmation message displayed for all to see. "Hey Carrots!" Judy came into the room and took down the restaurant information, and the reservation time of 6 p.m. "What do you think they're celebrating?"

"I don't know, but do you wanna find out?"

"Damn straight, partner. Make sure you dress your best, 'cause this night's gonna be one to remember." Having the lead they needed, Nick and Judy left the apartment building and began to walk to their squad car. Judy pulled the keys out of her pocket and hit the door unlock button. The double chirp of the car was swiftly followed by a deafening explosion that launched the car ten feet in the air and blew the partners clean off their feet and onto their backs. Nick groaned in pain as he rose to his knees, a dull ringing noise playing its one note symphony in his ears. He looked to his right and saw Judy propped up on her elbows, staring at the flaming wreck in shock. Nick snapped his fingers next to her ears and was relieved when he saw them twitch. "Thank God! You okay, Carrots?"

"Y...yeah. Are you okay, Nick?"

"Aside from the fact that my ears won't stop ringing? Yeah, I'm okay." After catching their breath and staring at the upended ball of fire for another three minutes, Nick asked, "You wanna call Bogo, or should I?"

* * *

An ambulance, a firetruck, and a squad car arrived on the scene five minutes after Judy called it in. Chief Bogo stepped out of the driver's side while Grizzman stepped out of the passenger side, both of them struck dumb at the sight of the partners' vehicle. As for the partners themselves, EMTs looked them up and down for any signs of injuries; Nick drank from a bottle of water as a small wound on his arm was bandaged, and Judy got a close examination of her ears, followed by a hearing test. Much to her relief, she passed. After the EMTs left, Judy put her hand on Nick's back and asked, "You okay?"

"Mentally, yeah. Physically, no. Can you kiss this and make it all better?" Nick asked as he held up his injured arm, pouting for dramatic effect. He knew it wouldn't work. There was no way that she'd even think of humoring him at a time like this, not after their car was bombed. At least, that's what he thought. Much to his surprise, Judy gently took his arm and gave it a little kiss. "There you go, Nicky. All better."

"Thanks, Carrots." Nick smiled and gave her an affectionate nudge in the ribs, causing Judy to flinch and giggle. "Watch it, buster! I'm ticklish!"

A mischievous grin spread across Nick's face. "Thank you _so_ much for that information. I'll have to remember that for next time!"

"Playtime can wait." The deep rumble of Chief Bogo's voice cut through the air as the duo rose to attention. "You two are lucky you weren't killed. After seeing this, I can't allow you to jeopardize yourselves any further. As of right now, you're reassigned."

"WHAT?! Sir..."

"Hopps, this is for your safety as well as Wilde's. Get in the car and we'll discuss this back at the station."

"Sir, the Wolvertons are going to be at the Del-Vixen restaurant at 6 tonight! If we're able to find out anything at all about who they're working for-"

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I think I may have the answer to that." Grizzman herded the trio into the ambulance and pulled out a series of pictures, the first of which was the blown-up kiosk photo. "Chief, you need to see this too. I found out the ID of your lynx in the chain, Nick-his name is Philippe Chateaux." Upon the mention of that name, Bogo put his head down and cursed, pounding his fists into the side of the ambulance. Concerned, Judy asked, "Do you recognize that name, sir?"

"I do." Bogo narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist as he looked at the photo. Nick noticed that the chief was getting angrier than usual and asked, "Uh...sir...you okay?"

" _Fine, Wilde_." He turned to Grizzman and asked, "If Chateaux was involved, does that mean...?"

"Unfortunately, it does." He pulled out a picture of a smiling bull in a police uniform and a photo of the graduating class of 1995, with Chateaux and the bull circled in black marker. Pointing from left to right, the bear said, "That's Philippe, and that's his partner, Ferdinand del Toro."

"del Toro the crime kingpin? He was a cop?!" Judy exclaimed in shock.

"The top student in his class," Bogo replied. "He and Philippe were the arresting officers in a case involving a mob hit that occurred three months after he became an officer. The two of them went to the house of the animal involved and arrested him with no resistance, but when they saw how the other side lived...they wanted to be a part of it. So in between patrols, sting operations, and whatever other assignment I sent them on, they'd moonlight as gofers for the mob. They got so good at what they did, they became top-ranking lieutenants for Damian Stripe."

"Damian Stripe..." Nick's eyes widened. "He wouldn't happen to be related to Michael Stripe, would he?"

"His father, as a matter of fact," Bogo replied.

"So how did you find out about their mob ties?"

"Damian Stripe was found dead shortly after Chateaux and del Toro became his lieutenants. He was found in an alleyway, shot three times in the chest and once in the head. The bullets were traced back to their weapons, but del Toro and Chateaux had disappeared into the criminal underworld by that point." Upon this revelation, Judy gasped in shock.

"Three times in the chest, once in the head? That's what happened to Thornbull! My God, Stripe wasn't trying to make it look like a suicide! He was trying to avenge his father!"

"He must have found out Thornbull was working for del Toro when he visited him," Nick added. "Thornbull's dead body in the car was supposed to be a 'screw you' to del Toro! Stripe was gonna steal those plates out from under his nose and start his dad's empire all over again!"

"But how do the Wolvertons fit into all of this?" Judy wondered.

"Like I said, they're mercenaries for hire," Grizzman said. "Odds are that Stripe did something to piss someone off and he's lying dead somewhere-his reputation wasn't the best, remember. With him out of the way, the Wolvertons are called in and all this happens."

Bogo rose from his seat and asked, "What time did you say their reservation was for, Hopps?"

"Six p.m. at the Del-Vixen restaurant, sir."

"Get your dress clothes on, officers. We have a dinner date tonight."


	9. Scenes From A Contemporary Restaurant

Located in the heart of the Rainforest District, the Del-Vixen was one of the premier restaurants in greater Zootopia. It regularly placed in the top five best eateries in the year-end review of the Times, thanks in no small part to its casual atmosphere, massive drink selection, award-winning food-animals raved about the fish tacos and the vegetable stir fry-and most of all, the gorgeous scenery one could take in looking out the massive curved window in the dining room. The restaurant was perched in a tall tree high enough to peek over the canopy and right at downtown, whose lights would shine brightly for the diners. And when the sky was clear and filled with stars...those were the nights you remembered. It was looking to be one of those particular nights as Judy and Nick entered the restaurant at 5:15 p.m. Nick wore a dark red polo shirt with a Yakees pin on the collar and khaki pants, while Judy wore a carrot pendant necklace and a sleek dress she picked up from DNKY after their ambulance meeting. They checked in using aliases and the hostess gave them a beeper to let them know when their table was ready; they both headed to the bar, taking a seat near the beer taps in the middle of the counter.

Nick turned towards the window and stared out towards the city. The only word he could muster was a small "wow" as he took it in. He nudged Judy and said, "Carrots, you've gotta see this." When she turned around, Judy's eyes lit up and she gasped in astonishment at the beautiful view before them.

"It's amazing, Nick. Just...amazing."

Nick smiled and put his arm over her shoulders. Judy glanced at the fox and reminded him, "We're on duty, Nick. Don't get _too_ frisky."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Then he added, "Chief, are you seeing this?"

"Oh yeah. And I'm hearing it loud and clear." A nondescript van in the far corner of the parking lot laid unregarded by the diners. That van held Chief Bogo, Officer Furlong, and a cache of surveillance equipment. The leopard officer grinned as he looked at the footage. "That view is something else, chief."

"It certainly is, Furlong. Never thought my first time here would be on a surveillance op."

"Same here." He spoke into the microphone in front of him, asking, "Can you hear me, Nick?"

Nick and Judy leaned towards each other so it looked as if they were talking. "Yeah, Furlong, I can hear you. There's no sign of the Wolvertons as far as I can see, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled." He looked straight at Judy's necklace, his image filling the second screen in the van as he asked, "Are you receiving me?"

"We are," Bogo said. "Officer Hopps, can you hear me?"

"Yes, sir. Nick and I are ready to pounce."

"They should be arriving any minute. Be careful, you two."

"Will do, sir." When she finished, the bartender approached them and said, "Excuse me, folks! Have you been served yet?"

"Not yet," Nick replied. "I'll have a Jack and Croak, please."

"You know...just some water with a slice of lemon would be fine for me, thanks," Judy said.

"Perfect! I'll get your drinks." Judy turned her attention to the door as the bartender prepared their drinks, and sure enough, the Wolvertons had just walked up to the hostess. She grinned and said, "There they are, chief."

"I see them, Hopps." The brothers took their beeper and walked towards the opposite end of the bar, taking their seats as Judy and Nick turned and hid their faces in a menu. Nick slowly turned around and saw the Wolvertons laughing and carrying on, obviously enjoying themselves. The memory of Judy's face on the video and the explosion replayed in his head as he honed in on them, turning his right shoulder and the camera/mike towards the trio. The bartender served them their drinks as Judy put her finger in her necklace, moving the pendant to her right as she took a sip of her water. The dual microphones picked up the brothers' conversation as they were served their drinks.

"Thanks, pal," Gary said as he handed the bartender some money. "Keep the change." Dumbstruck, the bartender stuck the money in his tip jar, the 100 on the bill standing out amongst the dollars and fives like a jaguar in a snowstorm.

"Come on, Gar!" Alex whispered. "Giving the dude a fake hundred? Dick move!"

"That wasn't a fake. I should know; it came from my wallet."

"So, what's the word from the boss?"

"The trucks are loaded and the money ships tomorrow." Gary drank his 7 and 7 and declared, "And speaking of money, we get ours tonight at midnight." The trio laughed and gave each other a high-paw. "That's another job done, boys. On to the next one."

"I gotta say," Neil said as he took a swig of Bunweiser, "this one's been fun." Judy and Nick seethed at his statement, the fox letting out a low growl while the rabbit clenched her fist and shot a death glare at the brothers. Meanwhile, Bogo sat in the van, leaning forward in his chair mumbling, "Say something, dammit. Give us the smoking gun."

He wound up waiting for the smoking gun for ten minutes. At that point, the Wolvertons' beeper went off. "Oop! Looks like our table's ready," Gary exclaimed. "Let's go, boys!"

Judy's world ground to a halt as Wolverton said those words. Her mind rewound to the attack, replaying what Balaclava Three had said to her. _Your investigation ends tonight. Let's go, boys._ The cadence of those words...the way they moved...the crossed arms...

A grimace of rage formed on Judy's face as she stood up and began to walk towards them. Meanwhile, in the van, Bogo screamed, "HOPPS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK! _GET BACK!"_

"I got her, sir!" Nick grabbed her, put his paw over her mouth and dragged her towards the coat room. Several diners shot him quizzical looks, to which he replied, "Sorry! Sorry! She gets nervous in public places!" When they got to the coat room, Nick slammed the door and said, "What were you _thinking,_ Judy? You almost blew our cover!"

"'Let's go, boys!' You didn't hear that?!"

"No, I heard it!"

"Then why didn't you let me make the arrest?!"

"Because you _weren't_ going to make the arrest! You were going over there to beat the crap out of them! Anyone can tell you that three against one is terrible odds!" When she turned away from him, Nick grabbed her shoulders and demanded, "Judy, look at me!" She refused. "LOOK AT ME!" The anger and frustration in his voice made her relent, and when she did, Nick said, "I understand, Carrots. Believe me, I do. But you need to keep a clear head. Letting your emotions get the best of you when we're this close to bringing them down would be a disaster. Not just for you, but for me and the whole ZPD. The last thing you need is a brutality charge."

Judy put her paw to her face, groaned and replied, "I never even...oh God! Nick, I'm so sorry."

"You'll get your chance. I can feel it. Besides..." He pulled out the beeper, flashing red lights dancing across its face. "Our table's ready. You go pay the bartender; I'll take this." As they left the coat room, Bogo got in Nick's ear and said, "Thank you, Wilde. That was huge."

"No problem, chief. We'll get 'em." With the bartender paid and their drinks finished, Judy and Nick sat at their table, a two-animal booth located across the room from the Wolvertons, who were seated with their backs to them. Nick ordered the vegetable stir fry while Judy ordered a salmon steak with carrot glaze, which the fox chuckled at. Every few seconds they turned their attention to the Wolvertons' table, only to find them chatting about old jobs or recent films. Small talk and nothing more. Once their food arrived, the partners sampled each other's dishes and found both delicious and, to quote Nick, the best salm damnon he'd ever tasted; the Wolvertons had received their check at that point. They paid with cash, leaving a large tip for the waiter and turned to leave before Gary stopped. Alex asked, "What's wrong, bro?"

"Nothing. I just gotta use the little cub's room."

"You want us to wait for you?"

"Nah, get on home. I'll meet up with you later."

"Sure thing, Gar! Don't work too hard in there; you might pull a muscle!"

"I'll try to keep that in mind!" Gary entered the men's room as his brothers left the restaurant. Nick turned to Judy and tried to ask her a question, but to his shock, her chair was empty. After looking around for a good thirty seconds and finding no trace of her, he put two and two together and mumbled, "Oh crap..."

Nick slammed a fifty on the table and ran outside.

* * *

Gary stepped out of the bathroom stall and headed for the sink, humming to himself as he began to wash his paws. He dried them off with some paper towels and was just about to leave when he heard a voice from one of the stalls exclaim, "Sounds like you're happy about something."

"That's 'cause I am, anonymous voice."

"What are you happy about?"

Gary called, "Anybody else in here?" When no one answered, he locked the bathroom door and said, "Well, just between you and me...and you've gotta swear on your life that you won't tell this to anyone, got it?"

"Got it."

Gary grinned and said, "My brothers and I just finished a job that's gonna net each of us thirty grand."

"That's good money. Who were you working for?"

"You ever heard of Ferdinand del Toro?"

"I've heard the name."

"Well, he's the one who hired us. The guy has this huge counterfeiting operation that's actually going live tomorrow."

"Anybody know about it?"

"That's the thing. These bills are so well done that they're virtually impossible to tell apart from the real thing!"

"Do the cops know about this?"

"We tried warning off the rabbit and fox that were working the case twice. The home invasion route didn't work, but preliminary results indicate that the pipe bomb next to the gas tank worked like a charm! With those two off our backs, it's all uphill from here!"

"One final question and then I'll leave you alone."

"Go for it."

"Do you like rabbits?"

Wolverton broke into a huge, genuine smile. " _Like_ rabbits? I _love_ rabbits! Ooh, they're just adorable! Their eyes, their fur, their cute little noses, their long floppy ears-every part of their body is just...perfect! Why do you ask?"

"No reason." The wolf unlocked the door and was just about to leave the bathroom when the voice dropped the bombshell: "Thanks for putting up with me, Balaclava Three."

Those last two words stopped him dead in his tracks. His eyes bulged and his muscles tensed as he asked, "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me," the voice spat. "You were the one who did all the talking that night. And this is just a guess, but I'm willing to bet those two other wolves at your table were your partners. Am I on the right track?"

Gary's paws began to clench as he reached for his gun. "They're my brothers. I'm the alpha, so wherever I go, they go."

"And I'm willing to bet you thought you scared that cute little bunny into dropping the case, didn't you? Had her crying and shaking in her fur after you threatened to mount her skin on your wall? And when that didn't work, I can bet dollars to doughnuts you knew, you _knew_ , that blowing up their cruiser would make them stop. You couldn't be more wrong."

By that point, Wolverton had moved past the point of shock all the way to steel-eyed rage. He blocked the bathroom door with a trashcan and approached the stalls, his left paw clenched around his gun, his voice colder and angrier. "Who are you? Are you a neighbor of that rabbit?"

"You could say that."

"Then tell me...how do you know so much about what happened that night?"

"Because I was there."

"HOW?! The apartment was empty when we..." Something clicked in his head. In a fury, Wolverton drew his gun and demanded, "Tell me your name! TELL ME YOUR NAME RIGHT NOW!"

The stall door opened to reveal a gray rabbit, dressed in fancy dinner clothes, holding a voice modulator to her lips. She tossed the device to the floor and sprung into the air, kicking the gun out of Wolverton's paw with a well-timed strike. When she landed, she swept his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground as the gun clattered to the floor right next to her. She picked it up and walked onto his chest as Wolverton regained his bearings. When the cobwebs had been knocked loose, he found himself staring at the pointed end of a tranquilizer dart loaded in his gun, which was now being used to subdue him by one very focused, very angry rabbit.

This was the moment she had waited for. Every muscle in her body wanted to make Wolverton pay for what he had done to her that night. The thought of squeezing the trigger and watching the dart fly into his neck or his face crossed her mind countless times as she held him down. But in the end, cooler heads prevailed and she triumphantly answered his demand as Nick, Bogo and Furlong entered the room:

"My name is Officer Judy Hopps. And you are under arrest."


	10. Interrogation & Defiance

"What do you mean he never showed?"

The clock on the wall read 12:20 a.m. Alex and Neil stood in del Toro's office, shock and surprise written on their faces. "You'd think with our big payday, he'd be the first one here!"

"I am just as surprised as you, boys," del Toro said with a frustrated grunt. "Knowing your history, he's always been the first to arrive and the last to leave."

"Exactly!"

"He'll show up," Neil said as he patted his brother on the back. "He always does."

* * *

Gary sat in the interrogation room at ZPD headquarters, aimlessly stirring his cup of coffee. Nick sat across from him at the table with Bogo, Clawhauser and Hopps watching from behind the one-way glass. Nick leaned forward in his chair and asked, "First time seeing the inside of this place?"

"Yep." Gary took a sip of his coffee and grinned.

"You got anything to say?"

"Nope."

"Well, I do." Nick rose from his chair, evidence folder in hand, and got in Wolverton's face. "We have stray hairs that were found in Officer Hopps' apartment the night she was attacked; they belong to your brother Alex. That carrot pen he was fooling around with has a recorder built into it; we have not only your names, but indisputable evidence that you were there."

"But that's all you have," Gary countered. "That we were there. You have no evidence of who we're working for or what they're planning."

"We have four test run packages of counterfeit bills. Believe me, we know what you're planning." The first pictures in the lineup were photos of Thornbull's corpse and the selfie. Wolverton paid no mind to the first one, but the zebra in the selfie caught his attention. "Michael Stripe..."

"You working for him? With him?"

Gary chuckled and replied, "That would be impossible."

"How so?"

"Because he's dead." Nick's eyes widened as Gary continued talking. "Nice try, Wilde. So far, all you can book me for is the home invasion." Behind the glass, Judy mumbled, "Grizzman was right..."

Nick brandished the blown-up kiosk photo and del Toro's profile picture. "See this lynx? That's Philippe Chateaux. He's a former cop turned criminal, and so is his partner, Ferdinand del Toro. You recognize any of those names?"

Gary took a long, slow sip of his coffee and replied, "Nope. Not a one." When he said this, Judy nearly jumped out of her skin, exclaiming, "We got him!"

"How do you know?" Clawhauser asked.

Judy pulled out her carrot pen and rewound it. After playing the message for him and Bogo, the chief grinned with satisfaction and said, "Get in there, Hopps."

"With pleasure." She left the observation room and entered the interrogation room, clapping Nick on the shoulder and saying, "I can take it from here." He nodded and left, leaving Judy and Wolverton alone. "You're back in your blues, I see," Gary said. "Shame; that was a nice dress."

"Spare me the flattery, Wolverton. Who are you working for?"

"I have no comment."

Judy leaned forward and repeated the question, this time with more force.

"You know, Hopps, you've really gotta learn when to quit. Like I said to your partner, all you can book me for is the home invasion. You have no evidence that ties me or my brothers to this del Toro guy or this Chateaux guy, and as far as I'm concerned, if this goes to trial it'll be my word against yours. And I guarantee I'll win."

"Actually..." Judy pulled out her carrot pen and rewound it to the beginning. When she pressed play, Gary's voice repeated what he'd said in the Del-Vixen bathroom.

 _"You ever heard of Ferdinand del Toro?"_ Gary's cocky smile vanished. Then Judy hit the rewind button to rub it in. _"You ever heard of Ferdinand del Toro? Well, he's the one who hired us. The guy has this huge counterfeiting operation that's actually going live tomorrow._ " All the blood drained from Gary's face as he slunk down in his chair. Across the table, a smug grin spread across Judy's.

"It'll be _your_ word against yours."

* * *

Anxiety was in the air as Alex and Neil paced the floor. Repeated calls to Gary's cell phone had gone unanswered and text messages had been ignored. Neil eventually plopped down in a chair and mumbled, "I don't believe this..." Just then, a lightbulb went off in Philippe's head and he asked, "Do either of you have a cell phone locator app on your phone?"

Neil brandished his and replied, "Yeah, I got one."

"Then plug his number in there and find out where he is."

"Dammit, why didn't I think of that?" He switched his network on, pulled up the app and plugged in Gary's phone number. After thirty seconds of thinking, a map popped up on the screen with a blinking green dot right in the middle of a giant blue blob. Neil zoomed out to see what the blob was and let out a small gasp-a small circle with a drawing of a police officer appeared.

The blob was the downtown branch of the Zootopia Police Department. When Neil showed the map to del Toro, his eyes narrowed as he got out of his chair. "Philippe?"

"Yeah, Ferd?"

The bull gripped an empty file cabinet and spat a one-word instruction at his lieutenant.

 _"MOVE."_

* * *

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. If he's running a huge counterfeit operation, he's bound to be running it from a warehouse, an abandoned building; somewhere big. Where is it?"

Wolverton said nothing.

"Come on, Gary. Don't make this any harder on yourself."

Once again, Wolverton remained silent.

"Fine. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." Judy got up, grabbed the chair and dragged it towards Gary until she was sitting right next to him. An awkward silence hung in the air as Wolverton shot several nervous glances at the rabbit. And then, she put her plan into motion.

"Look at me, Gary." He did so, only to be met with a pair of big, wide, glistening eyes. "You made me sad. All I wanna do is find out where the bad guy is." A nervous grin and a furrowed brow was his answer as Judy cranked up the cuteness. "What's the matter? Don't you like my cute widdle nose anymore?" She put her ears down and twitched her nose, sending Wolverton into a fit. Behind the glass, the trio watched all this unfold with jaws slack and eyes wide as Bogo mumbled, "What the hell...?"

She nuzzled Wolverton's neck and cooed, "Don't you wanna see this cute widdle bunny happy again, Gary? Don't you wanna see her smile?"

"Y...yeah..."

"Then all you have to do is tell me where del Toro's warehouse is." Sweat beaded on his brow as he tried to resist her charms, but then Judy went in for the kill, shoving the cuteness into overdrive.

"Pwease tell me, Gary. If you don't, you...you're gonna..." She sniffled. "You're gonna...make...me...cry..." And then she did, with small, hitched sobs ringing through the interrogation room as Wolverton covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying to ignore her. But it was no use. Every time she sniffled, her nose twitched. She kept nuzzling him whenever he put his head down. The killshot, though, happened when he looked up and saw Judy, nose twitching, eyes bulging, lips pouted, tears dangling in her eyes...it was too much for him to take.

"OKAY, OKAY! You win! I'll tell you whatever you need to know! Just...please, can I at least scratch you behind the ears?"

The bunny stopped crying and smiled. "Of course, silly!" She put her head back against his chest, allowing Wolverton to scratch her behind the ears. He smiled in relief and said, "I'm sorry I made you cry, Hopps."

"It's okay. Keep scratching and tell me everything you know." She turned her head towards the glass, grinned, and gave a thumbs up. Bogo and Clawhauser high-pawed each other and then did the same to Nick. He could only grin at what Judy had pulled off.

"Sly bunny."

* * *

The animals manning the presses in del Toro's print shop had grown accustomed to a lot of things during this operation. Flying file cabinets? That was a new one. Philippe moved, and del Toro threw the cabinet through the window, sending glass and wood flying across the work area. Almost immediately, the bull calmed down and called his cleanup crew. After a short phone conversation, he slammed the receiver down and sighed in exhaustion.

"If he's in custody, what do you think the odds are that he talked?"

"Slim to none," Alex replied. "Neither of us have ever ratted on each other." Neil nodded his head in agreement.

"That is an admirable trait, Alex. Loyalty is something to be prized. But..." del Toro got up from his seat and walked behind the brothers, putting his arms across their shoulders. "You still work for me. And loyalty is something that Philippe and I take _very_ personally. We cannot run the risk of your brother ratting us out."

"So...what is it you want us to do? Break him out?"

del Toro guided the brothers down into two separate chairs and returned to his own, a deathly serious frown on his face.

"I want you to kill him."

The Wolvertons felt as if they'd been struck by a thunderbolt. Kill their brother? Was he serious? "This is not up for debate, you two," Philippe exclaimed. "Gary has to die."

"Why? Because he talked? Do you even _know_ that he talked?"

"We have our suspicions," del Toro replied. "And that's enough."

"So, let me get this straight," Neil said. "You want us to kill our brother...because you have a hunch?" del Toro didn't respond. Alex let out a low growl and Neil's lips drew back in a full-toothed snarl as he gave Ferdinand their answer:

 _"You are completely out of your mind."_

"Do not take that tone of voice with me, Neil! I am giving you an order, and I expect it to be followed!"

"What if you're wrong? Huh?! Then we'll have killed our brother for nothing! And what happens then?" Once again, del Toro said nothing.

Neil flashed a disgusted smile and got out of his chair as Alex did the same. "Your silence says it all. You can keep your money-we're done here." They started for the door before Philippe stepped in front of them, gun drawn. "You're. Not. Going. Anywhere."

"Yes. We. Are. Get out of our way, Philippe."

del Toro screamed, "Who the hell do you think you are?! Need I remind you, YOU work for ME! AND I AM GIVING YOU AN ORDER! YOUR LOYALTY LIES WITH _ME!_ "

"If you really believe that, you're insane," Alex countered. "Our loyalty is to each other, _then_ the job."

Neil put his arm over Alex's shoulder in solidarity. "As far as we're concerned, Ferdinand, you can go to hell."

His rage nearly blinding him, del Toro spat, "You...you two will do as I say. Go to ZPD headquarters...find Gary...and _DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO!_ _ **KILL HIM!**_ "

In the back of their minds, Alex and Neil both knew how this story was going to end. It had been a good run...ten years of mercenary work. Interesting animals that they had met. Exotic locales. Great food. Good money. But they were brothers first, and mercenaries second. Family trumped everything. So Alex stood straight, looked del Toro dead in the eyes, and wrote his epitaph.

 _"Fuck you, Ferdinand."_

The first shot sent Neil tumbling to the floor, blood oozing from the hole in his head. Alex never heard the second shot.

del Toro pounded his fists into his desk, screaming and snorting in rage as Philippe kept a wide berth to avoid his wrath. After del Toro's tantrum subsided, he adjusted his tie, grabbed a microphone and announced, "Attention, everyone! Due to a recent turn of events, I am sorry to say that I am moving our distribution schedule from tomorrow afternoon to right now! Gather whatever money you have together and have it packed and ready for transport ASAP! We move out tonight!"


	11. Denial, Bargaining, Anger

1:29 a.m.

Four empty newspaper delivery trucks rolled up to del Toro's warehouse and backed up to the delivery docks. Inside, the bull's employees were putting the freight elevator to good use, bringing up pallets upon pallets of counterfeit money and placing them in groups by truck. Philippe walked amongst the freight, directing it where it needed to go through hand gestures and verbal instructions as del Toro came upstairs through the storm door.

"Well, Philippe, this is it," he said as he watched an army of forklifts load up the trucks. "Months of planning has led us to this moment."

The lynx shook his head in astonishment and replied, "I can't believe it's finally here."

"Make sure you keep your eyes peeled, my friend. We don't want any unpleasant surprises."

"There won't be anything to worry about, Ferd. I guarantee it." Philippe returned to his work, unaware of the small army that had mobilized outside the door. Five squad cars lay in wait along the road leading from the warehouse, hidden in the darkness under cover of trees, billboards and derelict buildings. The four large windows on the roof of the warehouse had officers stationed at each of them, radioing headquarters with what they were seeing. A bulletproof van, flanked by five large cruisers, lay in wait inside a small garage across the street. And just outside the warehouse laid one cruiser, occupied by Judy and Nick, with Gary Wolverton in the backseat. Judy took one look at the decrepit warehouse and cracked, "Wow. No one would even think of looking for a counterfeit shop in a place like this."

"That's why he chose this building," Gary said as he stared through the window. "Hey, Hopps. Since I led you to HQ as promised...can I scratch you behind the ears again?"

Judy turned to face him and turned on the cuteness. "Once we have the big bad bull under arrest, you can scratch behind my ears all you want." She twitched her nose, which caused Gary to squeal in delight. Nick cracked, "Wow. The only time I've heard a noise like that is when my vacuum cleaner gets a rock stuck in it."

"Kiss my ass, Wilde."

"Only if you provide mouthwash after the fact."

"I make no guarantees." Gary crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat and prepared to close his eyes when a car parked just ahead of where they were caught his attention. He tapped on the protective glass and said, "I know that car."

"You do?"

Nick pulled out his binoculars and saw two wolves sitting in the driver and passenger seats. "Yeah...that's Alex's car. I'll give 'em a ring." He pulled out his cell phone to call them but, to his shock, a small army of text messages and two new voicemails awaited him. He played the voicemails first:

"Hey Gar, it's Alex. Just wondering where you are. We're down at the office getting paid, so meet us there when you get this message. Later."

"Neil here. Alex and I are at the office waiting for you. This isn't like you, bro. Get down here when you get this."

A cold chill came over Gary as he brought up his text messages:

A: gary where r u?  
N: were waiting bro come on  
A: mr dt is getting pretty pissed  
N: answer your damn phone gary  
N: this isnt like u  
A: u kno where 2 find us when u get this  
A: l8r

Panic began to set in as Gary dialed Alex's phone. It rang three times and went to voicemail. "Hey, it's Alex. You know what to do." He hung up and tried Neil's number, only to get the same result. "Neil Wolverton here. Leave your number and a message and I'll get back to you. Cheers."

"Th...they're not answering. Is there any way you can get closer?"

"Sure." Judy put the cruiser in drive and crept up next to Alex's car, close enough for all three to see inside of it. "One more try," Gary said to himself as he dialed Alex's number again. Once again, three rings and the voicemail message ensued, with one more disturbing detail: neither of the wolves in the car moved.

"No..." Gary dialed Neil's number. Three rings and the voicemail message. Neither of the wolves moved. He grabbed his head, turned away and began breathing rapidly, trying to fight off the oncoming flood with little success. Judy turned to him, concern written all over her face, and said, "Gary...if I unlock your door, do you promise not to run away?"

He was barely able to choke out a "Yes" through his panic.

"Okay." The second Judy unlocked the door, Gary bolted out and began pounding on Alex's car, tears flowing down his cheeks as he screamed, "ALEX! NEIL! I'M HERE! COME ON, GET UP! GET UP! I'M RIGHT-" When he put his paw in the door handle, it opened with little effort and Alex's body fell onto the ground in front of him. Inside the car, Neil's body slumped over the now vacant driver's seat, his dead eyes staring through Gary. When Judy and Nick saw this, they immediately got out of the cruiser and rushed to Gary's side, only to find the wolf in a full-blown meltdown.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NONONONONONO! ALEX, COME ON! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! NEIL, CAN YOU HEAR ME?! NEIL! _NEIL!_ " He began to perform CPR on Alex, ignoring the exit wound in his head as he breathed into his brother's mouth. All the while, Neil's stare pierced right through them as Judy grabbed Gary's arm and cried, "Gary! Gary, they're gone! There's nothing you can do!"

"I'M THEIR BROTHER, HOPPS! I CAN'T LEAVE THEM LIKE THIS! I'VE GOTTA WAKE 'EM UP! I'M THEIR BROTHER! I'M THEIR...I'M THEIR..." By that point, Gary had forced himself to really _look_ at the dead bodies of his brothers, and when he did, reality set in, and did so in the worst way.

Gary collapsed onto Alex's body and wrapped his arms around him in one final brotherly hug, hysterically sobbing as he stroked his fur. He cradled Alex in his right arm, reached into the car with his left and used his paw to shut Neil's eyes, ruffling the top of his head before choking out, "I...I'm so sorry...I love you...I'm so sorry..." Then he collapsed again, burying his face in the driver's seat and wailing for his loss. The raw emotion of what he was seeing caused Nick's legs to give out from under him, and he slid down the side of the cruiser until he was sitting on the ground. Meanwhile, Judy hadn't left Gary's side. The home invasion...the car bomb...none of that mattered in the face of this.

 _What if I was in his skin right now? What if it was my brothers and sisters?_

Judy began to cry as she grabbed onto Gary's side and hugged him, saying, "Gary...Gary, I'm so sorry..." He reached down and patted her head as a thank you before grabbing hold of Neil's paw again, praying to whoever would listen that this was just a bad dream. Gary wept until he had no more tears to shed, and then got back to his feet. His eyes red and his throat dry, he pulled out his cell phone and called Philippe. With a shaky voice, he began to speak.

"Ph...Philippe? It's Gary."

The lynx answered, "You okay? You sound like you've been crying."

"That's 'cause I have. My brothers are dead."

"Oh my God...that's terrible! Who did it?" When that question was asked, Gary's demeanor did a complete 180 from crippling grief to bubbling fury. _"You did."_

"E...excuse me?"

"I know it was you that pulled the trigger. Judging from the texts and voicemails they left me, it sounds like that thirty thou you promised us was a huge pile of bullshit."

"What are you-"

"The job was _done,_ Philippe! What was there left to do but kill off the help?!"

There was silence on the other end. All the hairs on Gary's body stood on end as he bared his teeth and snarled, "You're _dead,_ do you hear me?! You are DEAD! I'M COMING FOR YOU, CHATEAUX! I'M COMING FOR YOU RIGHT DAMN NOW!"

Nick got up from his prone position and attempted to stop him with a feeble, "Gary, no!" But Wolverton was having none of it. "I'M RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE, ASSHOLE! YOU JUST SIGNED YOUR DEATH WARRANT!" Gary hung up his phone, grabbed his brothers' guns, and ran towards the front door of the warehouse. In a panic, Nick got on the radio and ordered, "Furlong, tell me what you see!"

"Chateaux has his gun drawn and he's aiming it at the door!"

"Wolverton's coming in! I repeat, Wolverton's coming in! If Chateaux opens fire, get off the roof!"

"Roger that!" He didn't have to wait for very long, as the door was kicked open seconds later and Philippe began to fire until he ran out of bullets. When he went to reload, Gary jumped through a window and crash landed on top of the lynx, sinking his teeth into his neck as del Toro and his men began to fire. Wolverton loosed his grip, spun around and used Philippe's body as a shield, his form jerking and twitching as the bullets riddled his flesh. All the while, he stared dead into the lynx's eyes with pure uncut rage as the life slowly faded from them. When Philippe breathed his last, he flung his body at del Toro and let out a howl from the deepest part of his soul, his brothers' deaths avenged.

Now to take care of the bull.


	12. Truckin'

1:42 a.m.

Three of the four trucks were loaded and ready to go when del Toro noticed Philippe step away and answer his phone. At that point, the bull had more pressing matters to attend to, so he left Philippe to his own devices as he approached the final truck. When he stepped inside the trailer, he heard a series of gunshots; his nostrils flared as he grabbed his gun and stepped out of the truck, only to see that Philippe had wasted his ammunition on an opened door. As the lynx grabbed a new clip, Gary Wolverton came crashing through a nearby window, landing on top of Philippe.

"WOLVERTON! _KILL HIM!"_

del Toro and three of his workers drew their weapons and fired at Gary, who by that point had shielded himself with Philippe's body. The realization that they were hitting yellow, spotted fur rather than white-gray fur didn't register until Philippe's carcass skidded across the floor and landed at del Toro's feet, the lynx's face a mask of surprise and fear. The bull dropped to his knees in shock as Wolverton howled in triumph, and then he turned his attention to his former boss.

"NOW _YOU_ KNOW HOW IT FEELS, FERDINAND!"

del Toro's shock turned to rage as he rose to his feet. Snarling and snorting, he squared his shoulders and prepared to charge as his men began to reload their weapons. Suddenly, a loud crash turned everyone's attention to the roof. One of the giant glass windows had fallen straight to the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces. One of del Toro's henchmen took a closer look at the empty frame and noticed a figure quickly duck away from the open space.

"THERE'S SOMEONE ON THE ROOF!" The gunmen trained their weapons on the window and the surrounding area, firing at will. With the crew distracted, Gary used the opportunity to charge del Toro, who effortlessly tossed him off and into the cargo bay of the fourth truck. He slammed the door closed and shouted, "The trucks are loaded! Get on the road immediately, but leave the fourth! That one's mine!" The microphone in Gary's coat broadcast their travel plans loud and clear over Nick and Judy's radio as he informed them of what had happened:

"Hopps! Wilde! I'm in the back of the fourth truck! The first three are carrying the cash; this one's empty except for a few straps and bungee cords! I've got a feeling del Toro's gonna take me for a ride!"

Judy replied, "Gary, we're gonna get you out of there! Remain calm and try to secure yourself!"

"I'm past the point of calm, Hopps! I can hear the other three trucks moving away and...oh crap! We're moving! The fourth truck is moving!"

Nick exclaimed, "Get against the wall! Get as flat as you can and strap yourself in! Try to make an X out of the straps!" Then Judy grabbed the radio and informed her fellow officers, "del Toro and his men are on the move! I repeat, they are on the move! Wolverton is in the back of the fourth truck, and del Toro is behind the wheel! We are in pursuit!"

Judy hung up the radio and started the engine.

* * *

The northbound truck hadn't traveled far when the wailing of police sirens filled the air. The driver and the passenger-a donkey and a goat, respectively-decided their best course of action would be to try and lose them on the freeway. So onto the Eisencower they drove, the three police cars giving chase as they headed to the Rainforest District. The goat fired off a series of rounds at the police cars, doing little to slow them down. Weaving in and out of traffic, the truck came close to tipping over more than once, but its momentum was quickly corrected by the donkey driver. An upcoming gap in the middle guardrail provided an opportunity, and they took it with a hard left, going north in the southbound lane.

With one cruiser joining them on their insane journey, they sped up so they were riding parallel to the two cruisers in the northbound lane. With a straight shot between him and the cops, the goat reloaded and began to fire at the cruisers. An errant shot nicked the front tire of the first cruiser, shredding it and sending the car into a tailspin and into the ditch backwards. He tried the same with the second cruiser, but the cops slammed on their brakes and moved to the southbound lane at another gap in the median. Both cars moved in behind the truck and kept their distance, awaiting their next move. Meanwhile, the donkey kept driving, southbound cars swerving and blaring their horns as they made their way north. Another gap in the median was coming up, and the donkey decided to cut across one more time.

It was one time too many.

He started his turn too late, and as a result, the driver's side wheel caught the concrete divider and launched the truck into the air. After a few feet of flight, the truck slammed to the ground passenger side first and skidded to a stop. The two cruisers pulled up on either side of the truck, and two officers emerged from each, weapons drawn.

"POLICE! GET YOUR PAWS WHERE WE CAN SEE 'EM!"

* * *

The southbound truck had instructions to head to Bunnyburrow, and they made their way to the outskirts of town before three cruisers pulled in behind them, sirens blaring. The driver, a kudu, cursed under his breath when he saw them and his passenger, a panda, asked, "You think we can lose 'em?"

"I don't know, but we can damn sure try!" The kudu floored it and the truck began to pick up speed, nearing its max as it headed down the highway. Inside the head police car, Officer Kevin Oxelrod radioed their position:

"We're heading south on the Eisencower Freeway in pursuit of a newspaper truck carrying counterfeit money! Truck is white, license plate zero-five-three-Charlie-two-Alpha! Approaching the Leoman Turnpike and heading south towards the Burrows! Requesting spike strips!"

"Roger that." Oxelrod gunned the engine and pulled up along the truck's passenger side, only to be met with a series of gunshots from the panda. He dropped back, moving behind the truck and keeping his distance as the chase continued. After a mile of driving, he got on the radio and said, "We've just passed the 310-mile marker! Any update?"

"We've got some strips set up two miles from your position. Be careful."

"Roger that!" Oxelrod informed his colleagues of the plan, and the chase continued. The kudu and the panda kept their attention on the road ahead, but neither of them noticed the spikes laying in the road. The truck hit the spike strips at full speed, the tires shredding and reducing the wheels to the axles they were mounted on. The sudden change in velocity caused the truck to careen back and forth, swerving from lane to lane like a drunken buffalo. Control was now a distant memory as the truck crashed through the guardrail on the right side of the freeway, sending it into the culvert. Oxelrod and his colleagues pulled over and approached the truck, guns drawn.

"GET YOUR PAWS UP! GET YOUR PAWS UP NOW!"

* * *

The ibex and the hyena drove the third truck eastward, cutting through downtown. Just like their colleagues, however, they attracted the attention of the ZPD almost immediately, and a squadron of four police cruisers settled in behind them. The caravan made its way into the heart of the city, where a series of short one-way streets and alleyways awaited. The first chance they got, the hyena turned onto a one-way avenue, driving against traffic and causing cars to dodge left and right in a desperate attempt to avoid them. The hyena cranked the wheel to the left, careening down Mane Street and past the Snarlbucks where the whole thing began. Like Michael Stripe before them, they turned onto Lynx Avenue and headed north, but instead of going for the freeway, they stayed in town and cut through an alleyway, which was just barely wide enough to accommodate the truck. Two of the squad cars followed while the other two split up, searching for another pathway.

The hyena looked in the rearview and cracked, "Cut 'em down to half, Chuck!"

"I can see that! Take some more shortcuts and we'll be home free!"

Another alleyway meant another opportunity to shake the police, and the duo took it. While the truck was able to fit down the alley, it was much narrower and when they exited, their rear view mirrors were knocked off by a pair of fire escape ladders. Little Rodentia was on their left as they swerved onto Hornbuck Avenue heading northeast, then cut onto Washingtusk Street, zigzagging through traffic and racing through stoplights. The street ended just ahead of them in a T intersection, but another alleyway on the other side of the lights proved too tempting to resist. Chuck gunned the engine. The ibex's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Chuck, that alley's too narrow! We're not gonna make it!"

"We're gonna make it!" Chuck laid on the horn and accelerated.

"We're not gonna make it, man!"

"STOP SAYING THAT! WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!"

"CHUCK! TURN, DAMMIT! _TURN THE DAMN WHEEL!"_

 _"FOR THE LAST TIME, WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!"_

The truck was now traveling at sixty miles an hour, rocketing towards the alleyway. The ibex put on his seatbelt and braced himself for the oncoming impact, which occurred three seconds later. The truck became wedged between the two buildings, and the resulting force was so violent that despite both of them wearing their seatbelts, the ibex and hyena were thrown through the windshield, with Chuck crashing headfirst into an industrial trash bin and the ibex landing hard on his back, breaking both of his horns and fracturing his skull. By the time the police had caught up and demanded their surrender, both the driver and the passenger were long since dead.

* * *

As the four trucks left the warehouse, del Toro broke from the pack and headed straight for the eastbound freeway. He turned the police scanner to the frequency of the pursuing squad cars and listened in as he made his way down the road. Nick and Judy pulled in behind him, siren blaring and lights flashing as they kept within close range. Inside the cargo bay, Gary had followed Nick's instructions and secured himself to the wall with two straps in an X, but he had no intention of staying there. Using his microphone, he exclaimed, "Hopps, where are you?"

"Right behind the truck! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Listen, I'm gonna try something really stupid! Fall back a few feet!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Shoot the lock off!" Gary pulled out his brothers' guns, leaned forward as far as he could, and took aim at the bottom of the door. "You ready?"

"Ready!"

"Here goes nothin'!" Wolverton fired alternating shots, the sharp cracks echoing through the empty space. When del Toro heard the shots, he swerved sharply to the left, causing a few of Gary's bullets to fly out of the side of the truck as he was pinned to the wall. del Toro swerved back to the right almost immediately, the force of the maneuver knocking Gary to the floor as he crawled towards the door. Though he could see the lip of the panel bouncing up and down, an attempt to lift it resulted in maximum resistance. So he got down on his stomach, stretched out his arms, and let loose with more alternating shots as Nick and Judy ducked down in their cruiser. A few pings and ricochets occurred, but this attempt proved successful as the lock disengaged. Nick and Judy rose from their seats and the fox pointed at the truck, exclaiming, "And behind door number four...Gary Wolverton!"

As if on cue, the door lifted up and revealed a grinning, nervous Gary. But then, del Toro slammed on the brakes. Judy screamed and shoved both of her paws into the brake pedal as the sudden jolt sent Gary rocketing backwards. Before he could react, del Toro accelerated and launched him out of the truck and onto the hood of the partners' car. He shook off the cobwebs and climbed into the backseat with Nick exclaiming, "Wolverton, I used to think you were crazy, but I was wrong! You are _certifiable!"_

"Thank you!" He turned to Judy and exclaimed, "Don't let that son of a bitch get away!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" She put her paw to the accelerator and off they went. Meanwhile, in the truck, del Toro had the misfortune of hearing the end result of the eastbound chase: "Chase is over. Suspects tried to escape through an alleyway off of Washingtusk and wedged the truck. Both were ejected from the vehicle, both are D.O.A. Requesting a bus."

del Toro slammed his hoof into the steering wheel and switched to another channel, this one broadcasting the southbound chase. As he pulled onto the freeway, the flashing lights and roaring siren of Nick and Judy's car once again filled his rear view mirrors. Cursing to himself, del Toro took a hard left from the entrance lane all the way to the shoulder of the freeway, looking for an opening. The police car got in behind him as the scanner announced the end of the southbound chase: "The truck went airborne! They're in the ditch! Moving in right now!"

The bull slammed his fist into the dashboard with such force that it activated the passenger side airbag; his rage blinded him to the fact that the cruiser had pulled along the right side of his truck. Judy rolled down her window and aimed her gun at the rear tires, firing a shot that flattened them. del Toro slowed down in an attempt to regain control, and when he did, Gary exclaimed, "Line me up, Hopps!"

"WHAT?!"

"Line up my door with his! I'm gonna jump!"

"Gary, are you crazy?!"

"No! I'm certifiable!" Judy rolled the window down and got alongside the truck. del Toro used that opportunity to fire his gun into the rear of the car, breaking the truck's passenger side window in the process. When he went to reload, Wolverton leapt from his crouched position up through the window and landed on the side of the truck, grabbing onto the frame of the passenger door. The cruiser dropped back as del Toro turned sharply to the right and swerved to the right lane, then took a sharp left in an attempt to shake Wolverton off. But once he finished the right turn, Gary used the force created by the maneuver to launch his body into the cab, much to the bull's shock.

del Toro threw a series of rights that Gary easily dodged, and he sank his teeth into del Toro's arm on the fourth jab. The bull screamed in pain as Gary pulled out Alex's gun and began to pistol-whip him, screaming in rage. The truck was now out of control by this point, scraping against the median and throwing off sparks as bull and wolf fought in the cab. In their struggle, Gary overheard the police scanner giving off the results of the northbound chase.

"Hey, Mr. DT! I think you'll wanna listen to this!" del Toro did as he was told, only to hear: "...chase is over and the truck has been immobilized; it went airborne and is laying on its side in the middle of the freeway! Rear door is open and...there's money in there! Lots of it!"

Gary grinned and exclaimed, "You lose, asshole! Looks like your money's no good here!" With that taunt, del Toro reached his breaking point. He grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the left, slamming through the median and cutting across the westbound lanes before his progress was stopped by a braking 18-wheeler clipping the side. The truck did a 180 before landing in the ditch. With nowhere to go, del Toro grabbed Wolverton and threw him out into the night, approaching him with murder in his eyes. Traffic slowed down to avoid the disabled 18-wheeler, and it was slowed down even further when Nick and Judy arrived on the scene. The partners burst from their vehicle, guns drawn, and aimed them at the charging bull. Wolverton ducked out of the way as del Toro crashed into the side of the trailer, but he quickly recovered and was back on his feet, ready to charge.

As he rounded the backside of the trailer, Gary looked to his left and saw his opening. With a steel-eyed glare, he stepped into the left lane and gave a "come at me" wave to the bull, which del Toro accepted. Squaring his shoulders and snorting in rage, del Toro broke into a full run and lowered his horns, preparing to gore the wolf. But he never got the chance.

Gary jumped back into the median as del Toro crossed into the left lane. When he did, the bull was met head on by a white station wagon that struck him at sixty miles an hour, a sickening crack echoing through the night as del Toro's body flew through the air, landing with a wet thud on the asphalt. Nick ran to check on the driver of the car, who had pulled over to the side of the road. Judy and Gary approached the prone body of the bull, guns drawn and ready to fire. "Hopps, I don't think anyone could've survived that," he said.

"Just making sure, Gary." She aimed her weapon at the body and waited for a response, but it never came. Judy breathed a sigh of relief and radioed to headquarters. "This is Officer Judy Hopps. The chase is over; Ferdinand del Toro is dead. Officer Wilde and Gary Wolverton are unhurt. Requesting a bus, a traffic controller, and a tow truck."

"Hey! Carrots!"

Nick's exclamation led the duo to the side of the road, where Nick and the driver of the station wagon waited. "What's up, Nick?"

His response was a jerk of his thumb towards the make and model of the car. When she saw it, Judy shook her head and let out a wry chuckle.

"This all started with a white Doeyota Yaris, and it ended with a white Doeyota Yaris. Unbelievable."


	13. News On The March

The story broke that afternoon, with ZNN anchor Peter Moosebridge reporting.

"What began with a series of late night car chases ended with the discovery of a counterfeiting operation. The two masterminds, both of them former police officers, dead in the resulting melee. I'm Peter Moosebridge, along with my colleague, Jane Pawley, with this special report."

"A derelict warehouse on the outskirts of downtown," Jane said, "a location to which most animals wouldn't even give a second glance. But this abandoned building proved to be the perfect location for the largest counterfeiting operation in Zootopian history-an operation that led to four separate chases last night involving delivery trucks. Our own Warren Zebron has more."

A video of the aftermath of the del Toro chase aired as Zebron said, "This was the scene earlier this morning after a freeway chase ended with a clipped 18-wheeler, a truck in the ditch, and the death of one of the most infamous figures in Zootopian crime. Ferdinand del Toro, pictured here, was struck and killed by a Doeyota Yaris traveling westward along I-30. Three similar chases occurred around the same time, one of which resulted in the deaths of both occupants of the truck."

The story cut to Officer Fangmire, standing beside the now-dislodged truck on Washingtusk. "They tried to escape down this alleyway and wedged the truck; they were both ejected and suffered massive injuries resulting in death."

"The other two chases ended with the apprehension of the suspects, while a search of the warehouse uncovered the extent of the operation and resulted in several more arrests."

The story cut to Chief Bogo, who stood in the doorway of del Toro's warehouse as the flashing lights of police cruisers flickered in the distance. "There was nothing in the warehouse itself, but when we went downstairs, there were four printing presses, two on either side, that were in the process of making more counterfeit bills. In terms of size, this is the largest operation I've ever seen."

Zebron: "Last night's fracas also resulted in three more deaths; Philippe Chateaux, del Toro's friend and a former police officer, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the warehouse itself, while the bodies of Alex and Neil Wolverton, noted Zootopian mercenaries, were found in a parked car nearby. According to Chief Bogo of the ZPD, their brother Gary assisted two of his officers in the I-30 chase."

Bogo: "He helped put a stop to this, and for that, I thank him. But he's still on the hook for a home invasion that he and his brothers committed against one of my officers, and I can't just let that slide."

Zebron: "On a related note, the recent disappearance of Zootopian crime figure Michael Stripe appears to be tied into the operation."

The story cut to Officer Furlong. "We received an anonymous tip to search the onsite trash incinerator, and when we did, we found some scorched bones and the remains of a wallet in the machine. When the wallet was opened, all the credit cards and such had melted, but there was an untouched receipt from Walrus-Mart in the money folder. We had central run a check on the credit card number, and it was able to be traced back to Mr. Stripe."

Zebron: "Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde have gotten the lion's share of the credit for uncovering the operation, but they insist that it was a total team effort."

The story cut to Judy and Nick, standing in HQ's lobby. Judy said, "Did the two of us uncover this operation? Yes we did, but we couldn't have gotten any further without the help of forensics and our fellow officers."

"They deserve credit too, believe me," Nick said. "But when you get down to brass tacks, it was mostly us." Judy elbowed Nick in the ribs as a reporter asked, "What about Gary Wolverton? Does his helping with the case change anything as far as his sentencing goes?"

"Does it change anything? Probably," Nick answered. "We might be able to knock a few years off his sentence, but that's still up in the air. We'll just have to see what the courts decide."

An array of flashbulbs exploded as the reporters jockeyed for position, trying to get their questions in. For the second time in as many years, Judy and Nick were at the forefront of one of the biggest cases in the history of Zootopia. They answered more questions and gave some more interviews before the day wound down and they returned to Judy's apartment to celebrate. Nick took his shirt off and put it over Judy's chair, laughing to himself as his partner set foot in her apartment for the first time since the attack.

"You okay, Carrots?"

"Fine, Nick. It's good to be home." She shut the door and grabbed some Bunny Delight from the fridge, pouring a glass for her and Nick. Raising her cup in the air, she announced, "To the best partner I could ever ask for!"

They clinked their glasses together. Then Nick announced, "To cracking the case!"

Clink. "To continued success!"

Clink. "To returning home!"

Clink. Then, from the other side of the wall: "TO KICKING ASS IN THAT CAR CHASE!"

The partners glanced at each other, shrugged and clinked their glasses together before drinking their contents. "YOU OKAY OVER THERE, JUDY?"

"Fine, guys! Thanks for your concern!"

"GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK!"

"Likewise!" Judy stretched and took off her uniform, changing into a T-shirt and shorts. Nick gave her a wolf whistle when she took her shirt off, resulting in a face full of police uniform and a goofy smile from Judy. Nick laughed and said, "I meant that as a compliment, Carrots!"

"I'm sure you did, Mr. Wilde." She sat down next to him and cracked, "If you wanna see me without my shirt on, it's gonna cost you."

"Are you trying to extort me, officer?"

"Maybe." Nick scratched his nose and replied, "Well, how about this?" He began to scratch Judy behind the ears, smiling as her foot thumped the floor. But as soon as she felt Nick's paw touch her head, tears filled her eyes and she let out a small sniffle. When he heard that, Nick stopped scratching and asked, "Hey Judy...you okay?"

"I...Nick, I've gotta make a phone call." Judy retreated to her desk, speed-dialing her parents on MuzzleTime. Stu answered after two rings and exclaimed, "Judy! How you doin', kiddo?"

"I'm fine, dad. Where's mom?"

"Right here, honey!" Bonnie stood next to Stu and said, "We heard about your big case on the news today! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, mom!" Her parents moved into their living room, where her brothers and sisters sat watching TV. "Hey guys," Stu called. "Judy's on the phone; everybunny say hi!"

A giant, loud "HI!" rang out through the phone's speakers as Judy waved and returned the greeting, smiling and laughing. However, it was not to last, as the memory of Gary's suffering hit her and hit her hard. Judy's laughter turned to tears as she put the phone down and buried her face in her arms, and Stu was quick to notice. "Hey...hey, Jude! What's wrong?"

"Honey...what happened?"

Nick picked up the phone and said, "Hey, Hopps clan. You know that Gary Wolverton the newscast mentioned?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, his brothers were killed, and I think she put herself in his position when..." On the other end of the line, Bonnie put two and two together, gasping when she realized the reason her daughter called. "Judy! Judy, it's okay!"

The realization hit Stu at the same time, and he removed his hat, wiping his eyes. "Hey, we're right here, kiddo. We're right here."

"Everyone's here and accounted for," Bonnie said. "Nothing happened, okay?"

"Jude, do you need us to come out there? Because we can come out there. You know what, I'm gonna call the train station-"

"It's okay, dad," Judy said as she wiped her eyes. "Really. I just wanted to see you guys."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." Judy wiped her eyes and smiled, asking, "So...any news from Bunnyburrow?"

"Oh yeah! We've got the county fair coming up in a month, and we'd love to have you and Nick over to help! Other than that, Gideon's pie business is thriving, the carrots are coming up like gangbusters..."

Nick put his arm across Judy's shoulders as the duo listened to Stu's update. She put her paw to Nick's as she listened along with him, her spirits lifted as her father continued to talk, finally concluding with, "...but other than that, there's not much to talk about. Great hearing from you, Jude the Dude! Take care, Nick!"

"You too, sir!"

"Love you guys," Judy answered. "See you at the fair!"


	14. Change

THREE WEEKS LATER

The din of multiple conversations echoed through the room as Judy and Nick took their seats at an empty table. Nick adjusted his visitor badge and looked around, viewing the prisoners interacting with their friends and family. He let out a sigh and said, "I wonder how he's gonna react."

"He'll be fine, Nick," Judy said as she laid the present on the table. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"Yeah." As he watched the animals around the room, he saw parents with children, presents being exchanged, and huge smiles on the prisoners' faces, this visitation distracting them from the drudgery of prison life. Saddened, Nick turned to Judy and said, "You know what the sad thing is, Carrots? We're all he has left. I mean, his brothers are gone, his parents are gone...it's just the two of us."

Judy's eyes widened as she realized the truth of Nick's words. "My God, Nick...you're right." The jangling of chains turned their attention to the approaching Gary Wolverton, accompanied by a cheetah guard. Clad in an orange jumpsuit and a gray knit cap, the wolf broke into a huge, genuine smile when he saw who was waiting for him. "Holy shit, look who it is!"

"How are ya, Gary?" Nick and Judy each shook his hand and gave him a hug before sitting down across from each other, the cheetah keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings. Gary cleared his throat and said, "I just wanna start off by saying, _thank you._ You two have no idea how much your statements helped. If you hadn't said anything, I was looking at six years."

"Did they knock it down any?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, to two years. I could get outta here in ten months with good behavior."

Judy smiled and said, "That's good news, Gary."

"As good as it can be." Wolverton glanced down and added, "Hopps, I...I never got a chance to apologize for what happened that night. So I'll just lay it all out right here: On behalf of my brothers and myself, I am sorry."

Judy put her right paw over his and replied, "Apology accepted, Gary. And you know what?"

"What's that?"

She motioned to Gary, and the guard nodded. With his blessing, she sat in Gary's lap and turned up her cuteness. "That calls for a reward."

Gary squealed in delight and exclaimed, "You remembered!" He began to scratch her behind the ears as Nick recorded it on his cell phone, using a documentary narrator voice to call the action. "And here we see the hardened mercenary reverting back to his childhood days, when a plush rabbit was his sleeping companion through those long nights." Wolverton glared at Nick and flipped him the animal equivalent of the bird, grinning as he did so. His recording complete, Nick put his phone away and asked, "Any plans once you get outta here?"

"I'll tell you this much, Wilde-no more mercenary work for me. After what happened..." Gary's voice trailed off as he turned away, shutting his eyes. "After that, I don't think I could ever do that sort of thing again."

"I don't blame you," Judy replied. "Were you able to go to their funeral?"

"Yeah." Gary reached into his shirt and pulled out a small necklace in the shape of a wolf head, showing it to the partners. "That's really nice," Nick said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Well, that's the thing. Alex and Neil were cremated; I scattered their ashes over the harbor in Tundratown. But I saved some of them for this." He pointed to the necklace and continued. "This is a little ash receptacle. Part of Alex, and part of Neil, right here. That way we can always be together." Gary's voice broke with those last few words, and he buried his face in his paws, weeping. Judy and Nick sat on either side of him, putting their paws on his arms to console him. "I should have gone with them...I should have been there..."

"Then you'd be dead too," Judy said.

"Sometimes I wish I was, Hopps. I have nothing left."

"You have your life, and you have a second chance," Nick said. "Look at me. Before I became a cop, I hustled and conned for a living. Now I'm putting my skills to good use."

"What are you saying? That I should join the force? No dice, Wilde-I've got a criminal record now."

"I'm just saying, why not try and use your mercenary skills for something good? How about a private investigator?" Gary's ears perked up as Judy added, "Sure! You can stay independent and do most of the things you did before...minus home invasions, of course."

"Either that, or I could get a job at the mint." The trio laughed at Gary's joke as he added, "I mean, I've got the experience, right?" Good-natured laughter ensued, eventually dying down with Gary saying to himself, "A P.I., huh? I could do that..."

Judy grabbed her present and handed it to Wolverton. "If you're really serious about this, don't just do it for yourself or for us." Gary tore the wrapping paper off to reveal a framed picture of him and his brothers, the three of them standing on a pier in Tundratown, mid-laugh.

"Do it for them."

When he got a good look at the photo, he smiled and laughed, his face betraying the tears falling from his eyes. "This is one of my favorite pictures..." He gave Nick a big hug, then did the same to Judy, who smiled and said, "Wherever they are, I'm sure they'll be proud of you."

"I hope so." Gary tucked the photo under his arm and rose from his seat, saying, "I hate to cut this short, but if I'm gonna become a P.I., I'll have to get my study on."

"Go for it, Gary," Judy said. "You know what Nick and I have said about change."

"Of course." He bent down and gave her another hug, saying, "Thanks, Hopps. For everything."

The rabbit smiled and replied, "Call me Judy."

Gary smiled back and nodded. "Sure thing, Judy. See you around." He walked back into the prison with the cheetah in tow as Nick and Judy headed to their cruiser, grinning to himself.

"Gary Wolverton, P.I. You know, I like the sound of that."

-END-

* * *

Many thanks to everyone who commented, followed and faved, and thanks once again to Dan Brodel for his help and suggestions.

Zootopia and its characters belong to Disney.

Indestructible lyrics copyright 2008 by David Draiman.


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